By executive order issued under “the authority vested in [him] by the Constitution,” Donald Trump restored the federal program whereby local and state law enforcement can apply to receive surplus military equipment from the U.S. Department of Defense.

In a speech delivered Monday, August 28 at the national convention of the Fraternal Order of Police being held in Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions revealed the president’s plan “to a cheering crowd,” according to the Washington Post’s report on the attorney general’s announcement.

The pipeline of materiel from Pentagon to police precinct is known as Department of Defense Program 1033, and it has been a fruitful bough from which local law…