By DAVID KLEPPER, BEN FINLEY and STEPHEN GROVES, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senators for the first time are questioning military leaders over President Donald Trump’s use of the National Guard in American cities , an extraordinary move by the White House that has led to legal challenges as well as questions about states’ rights and the use of the military on U.S. soil.

Thursday’s hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee was expected to feature tough questioning of Pentagon officials over the legality of the deployments , which in some places were done over the objections of mayors and governors, and a robust defense of the policy by Trump’s Republican allies.

It was the highest level of scrutiny, outside a courtroom, of Trump’s use of the National Guard since th

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