Vice President J.D. Vance disclosed that Donald Trump is considering invoking the Insurrection Act after federal courts have barred the National Guard from deploying in certain states. The decision follows the White House’s attempt to federalize the National Guard for immigration enforcement in Oregon and Illinois, a move that has been halted by courts. The administration stated the deployment was necessitated by rising crime in Portland and Chicago, but federal courts have since blocked these out-of-state assignments.
Trump had previously suggested using the Insurrection Act, remarking that he would consider it ‘if people were being killed and courts were holding us up.’ The law, established in 1807, empowers the president to deploy military forces on U.S. soil to restore order without congressional approval. ‘If I had to enact it, I’d do that,’ Trump stated. During an interview on NBC News’ Meet the Press on Sunday, Vance was asked if the president was serious about invoking the statute. ‘The president is looking at all his options,’ he said, ‘but right now, he hasn’t felt he needed to.’
Vance criticized the media for inciting violence against police, calling the attacks on officers unacceptable. ‘The problem here is not the Insurrection Act or whether we actually invoke it or not. The problem is the fact that the entire media in this country, cheered on by a few far-left lunatics, have made it OK to tee off on American law enforcement,’ he claimed. Democrats argue the deployments are unnecessary, citing police data showing declining crime in both states. Vance countered by asserting that local officials are not ‘keeping the statistics properly.’
Protests erupted last week outside Portland’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility, where demonstrators clashed with federal officers during late-night rallies. Smaller solidarity marches were also held in Seattle, San Francisco, and Denver. The Insurrection Act and its predecessors have been used 30 times in U.S. history since George Washington suppressed the Whiskey Rebellion in 1794. The most recent instance was under George H.W. Bush during the 1992 Los Angeles riots.
Democrats argue that enacting the law constitutes ‘abuse of the law and power.’ However, the White House maintains that the deployments are necessary to address rising crime in the specified states. The situation highlights growing tensions between the executive and judicial branches regarding the scope of presidential power in national security and law enforcement matters.