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Kevin Carroll /

An Unthinkable Choice

Donald Trump’s advisers would have put the U.S. military in the position of defying orders or turning their weapons on civilians.
General George Washington Resigning his Commission’: On 23 December 1793 he resigned his commission to Congress meeting in Annapolis, an act which led to a civilian rule and a republic rather than a dictatorship. Painting by John Trumbull, c1824.
‘General George Washington Resigning his Commission,’ by John Trumbull, c 1824. (Photo by Universal History Archive/Getty Images)

Four John Trumbull paintings hang in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol: one of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, two depicting British surrenders at great American victories of the Revolutionary War, and one titled General George Washington Resigning His Commission. The art is well-chosen, as the act commemorated in the last painting is as important as what happened at Independence Hall, Saratoga, and Yorktown.

Kevin Carroll served as senior counsel to Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly (2017-18) and House Homeland Security Committee chairman Peter King (2011-13), and as a CIA and Army officer.

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