President Donald Trump revealed on Monday that he is open to invoking the Insurrection Act to federalize the National Guard units in certain states, but noted it hasn’t been “necessary” so far.
“So far, it hasn’t been necessary, but we have an Insurrection Act for a reason. If I had to enact it, I’d do that,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office when asked under what circumstances he would invoke the 19th-century federal law.
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“If people were being killed and courts were holding us up or governors or mayors were holding us up, sure, I’d do that,” he said. “I mean, I want to make sure that people aren’t killed. We have to make sure that our cities are safe.”
The president’s remarks come after he authorized the deployment of the National Guard to Chicago and Portland, Oregon, as both cities are seeing increased hostilities between progressive protesters and immigration authorities. His efforts to deploy military troops to the Democrat-controlled cities, however, have been impeded by legal challenges and court orders.
On Sunday, a federal judge temporarily blocked the deployment of the National Guard to Portland for a second time. The latest order concerned National Guard units from California and Texas, while the first order affected the Oregon National Guard.
Additionally, the states of Oregon, California, and Illinois are suing the Trump administration over its move to federalize National Guard members.
In Chicago, a federal judge gave the Trump administration until Wednesday at midnight to respond to Illinois’s lawsuit and scheduled a court hearing for Thursday.
As the legal showdown plays out, Trump stands by his goal to make American cities safer.
Using the National Guard’s activation in Washington, D.C., as a model example, Trump is focusing on combating crime and improving public safety in Memphis, Tennessee, as well as Portland and Chicago.
“We have no choice but to do this,” he said, adding, “Portland has been on fire for years.”
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“I think that’s all insurrection. I really think that’s really criminal insurrection,” he continued.
Since its inception in 1807, the Insurrection Act has been invoked 30 times. It was last enacted in 1992, when then-President George H.W. Bush authorized a military response to the Los Angeles riots.