Trump Management Weighs Use of Insurrection Act Amidst Protests
The Trump administration is actively considering invoking the Insurrection Act, a rarely used law that would allow the deployment of the U.S. military for domestic law enforcement purposes. Discussions have been revived following a recent federal court ruling concerning the deployment of troops to Los Angeles.
The White House anticipates any attempt to utilize the act would face immediate and significant legal challenges, ultimately leading to a Supreme Court review. A federal judge recently determined that the administration’s June deployment of active-duty troops to Los Angeles violated the Posse Comitatus Act, a 19th-century law restricting military involvement in domestic policing. This ruling prompted renewed internal legal analysis regarding the Insurrection Act.
However, administration officials were advised that invoking the act under current circumstances might not withstand scrutiny from the Supreme Court, potentially ending a streak of favorable rulings for the President. The idea was later put on hold.A white House official confirmed the legal team is focused on identifying a legally defensible pathway to achieve the President’s policy goals.
“ultimately it’s the president’s vision and the president’s policies that he got elected to implement that the attorneys are just working hard to defend,” the official stated.”We’re working hard to look at the law and say, ‘how do we achieve the president’s vision?'”
The possibility of invoking the Insurrection Act was also considered during the protests following the death of George Floyd in 2020, but than-president Trump ultimately declined, a decision he later expressed regret over. This past experience is informing the current deliberations, according to a senior administration official.
Stephen Miller, a deputy chief of staff to President Trump, has been a consistent advocate for utilizing the Insurrection Act since the beginning of the administration. He has been central to discussions on the matter, according to multiple sources.
One scenario under discussion involves invoking the act if local law enforcement is unable or unwilling to protect Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and other federal law enforcement personnel. However, some officials have expressed concern that deploying the military domestically coudl result in confrontations between U.S. troops and American citizens.
President Trump has increasingly used the term “insurrection” to characterize events in cities like Portland and Chicago. He recently labeled resistance to ICE enforcement operations in those cities as “criminal insurrection.” Both Trump and Miller have characterized protesters opposing ICE operations as engaging in organized violence against the federal government.
Miller stated on Monday, “They’re saying they’re going to carry out insurrection against the federal government by using force, obstructive force, to keep ICE officers from going out and conducting arrests. this is an all-out campaign of insurrection against the sovereignty of the United States because the Democrat Party and those who are committing violence in this country do not beleive in legitimacy of the sovereign territory of the United States.”
