Overview

• In Oval Office remarks, Trump said he would use the law "if necessary" if killings escalated or if courts, governors or mayors blocked his National Guard plans, though he has not invoked it.
• In a Newsmax interview, he reiterated the option and described unrest in Portland as "pure insurrection."
• The Insurrection Act permits domestic deployment of active‑duty troops or federalization of the National Guard, with provisions that can allow unilateral presidential action.
• The law has been used rarely in modern times, most recently in 1992 when President George H. W. Bush sent troops to Los Angeles at the governor’s request.
• Legal boundaries remain contested, with a federal judge in Oregon criticizing earlier federal troop use and a California ruling finding a Posse Comitatus violation now paused on appeal.