(TRUNEWS) Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell fast tracked a bill through the Senate Friday, which would give President Obama the authority to deploy ground troops anywhere on the planet, for any length of time, including U.S. cities.

The provision was snuck into the new authorization for the use of military force (AUMF) against ISIS, and was fast tracked by Senator McConnell by invoking Senate Rule 14, which allows the bill to bypass referral to a Senate committee, and be placed directly on the Senate Calendar of Business.

Voting has now been officially postponed for the rest of this week due to the historic snowstorm ravaging D.C., but Senators still in Washington plan to work late until Wednesday on legislation, which now includes this bill, Oklahoma’s NewsOn6 reported.

Senator McConnell’s actions shocked many legislators, including Sen­ate Ma­jor­ity Whip John Cornyn, who was taken back by McConnell’s decision to fast-track the bill, saying “he did?” in response to questions by a reporter from the Na­tion­al Journ­al, who questioned him on his view of the bill Thursday morning.

Sarah Mimms from Defense One reported on the passage of the new AUMF Thursday, reiterating that McConnell’s move not only set up the authorization for a future vote, but because the resolution wasn’t placed on the calendar, it has also opened a loophole for a vote to come at any time the Senate is in session.

The measure already has four Republican cosponsors: Senators Lindsey Graham, Daniel Coats, Joni Ernst, and Orrin Hatch.

According to the Supreme Court, there is no precise definition for martial law, but it is generally accepted among experts that martial law is in effect when the military or police restrict freedom of movement.

Over the weekend, eleven states, as well as Washington D.C., declared states of emergency due to the record-breaking snowstorm. New York City however took that declaration a step further. Governor Andrew Cuomo ordered all people to stay inside under police enforcement, as well as issuing an absolute travel ban for anything that is not an emergency vehicle on all local and state roads in New York City, the Long Island Expressway and the Northern State Parkway on Long Island, and Port Authority’s trans-Hudson crossings.

Secret U.S. Military Drills

Fears of martial law in the United States saw a swift resurgence last year, when information was leaked to the media regarding the military drill code named ‘Jade Helm 15’, which included an estimated 10,000 soldiers, including special operations units, infiltrating and operating around cities in the American south.

Media outlet Truthout has obtained documents of a similar drill to begin in mid-January, where Navy SEAL’s will be practicing unannounced and clandestine combat beach landings across Washington State’s Puget Sound and many other coastal areas of that state.