Manchin at Odds with U.S. DoD

As co-chairman of the National Governors Association, Gov. Joe Manchin has co-written a letter to a top Pentagon official "opposing a new Defense Department proposal to handle natural and terrorism-related disasters," The Hill reports.

The bi-partisan group of governors believe "that a murky chain of command could lead to more problems than solutions," and "would hinder a state's effort to respond to a disaster," the article said.

"Current law gives governors control over National Guard forces in their own states as well as any Guard units and Defense Department personnel imported from other states," the newspaper reported. "The letter comes as the Pentagon proposes a legislative fix that would give the secretary of Defense the authority to assist in response to domestic disasters and, consequently, control over units stationed in an affected state."