On October 6, Trump told reporters at the Oval Office that he might use the Insurrection Act to respond to protests across the country. His comments came after a federal judge in Oregon blocked his earlier attempt to send National Guard troops to Portland to support Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in cracking down on illegal immigration.
“It’s not necessary right now. But there’s a reason we have the Insurrection Act,” Trump said. “If people are being killed and the courts or local officials stand in our way, I will absolutely do it.”
The National Guard typically operates under the authority of state governors, but as a reserve component of the U.S. military, it can also be federalized under presidential orders. While the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 prohibits the U.S. military from engaging in domestic law enforcement, the Insurrection Act of 1807 provides an exception, granting the president power to deploy troops in certain situations.
Originally signed into law by President Thomas Jefferson, the act allowed the president to use military forces “whenever there is an insurrection in any state, upon the request of that state’s legislature or governor.” An amendment in 1956 expanded presidential power, permitting the president to activate the law without state approval.
The statute states that “whenever unlawful obstructions, assemblages, or rebellion against the authority of the United States make it impracticable to enforce the laws of the United States, the president may deploy such armed forces as necessary to restore order.”
However, what qualifies as an “emergency situation” remains undefined, and U.S. courts have never clearly limited the president’s discretion under the act.
Since its enactment, the Insurrection Act has been invoked more than 30 times. The most recent use was in 1992, when President George H.W. Bush sent troops to Los Angeles at the request of California’s governor to quell riots following the acquittal of four white police officers who beat Rodney King, a Black motorist.
Trump has previously floated the idea of invoking the act but has never done so. In 2020, during his first term, he threatened to “deploy the U.S. military” if governors failed to stop riots following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. In June this year, amid protests in Los Angeles over ICE immigration raids, Trump again warned he could use the act “if riots occur.”
Speaking before hundreds of military generals last week, Trump suggested that America’s “unsafe cities” could serve as “training grounds” for the military — hinting at possible future deployments to crime-ridden urban areas.
This time, Trump described the situation in Portland as “a real insurrection,” adding that places like Chicago were “on fire.” Federal officials argue that deploying troops is necessary to protect federal buildings and ICE agents. Democrats, however, accuse Trump of overstepping his authority and using federal power for political retaliation.
Retired Major General Randy Manner, former acting deputy director of the National Guard Bureau, told Reuters that Trump’s interpretation of the Insurrection Act would be “unprecedented.”
“If you interpret it that way, it essentially allows the president to do whatever he wants,” Manner said.
Rachel E. VanLandingham, a law professor at Southwestern Law School in California, warned that Trump’s move could trigger legal challenges and spark new protests depending on the scale of deployment.
“Trump’s biggest problem is the lack of evidence justifying such a declaration,” she told The Washington Post. “The act is meant for truly extreme situations — and right now, those conditions simply don’t exist. We haven’t seen violence at the level that would warrant invoking it.”
Meanwhile, Thomas Gift, a political scientist at University College London, said the law grants Trump wide discretion in determining what qualifies as an emergency.
“Trump’s supporters argue he’s right to act if local governments can’t maintain order. And the reality is, under current U.S. law, there’s almost nothing that can truly stop him,” Gift said.