WASHINGTON — Vice President JD Vance said Sunday in an interview on NBC News’ “Meet the Press” that President Donald Trump is not opposed to invoking the Insurrection Act.
Asked by moderator Kristen Welker whether the White House was seriously considering invoking the 1807 statute, Vance responded: “The president is looking at all his options.”
“For the moment, he does not feel the need,” he added.
The Insurrection Act would allow the president to deploy the US military domestically for law enforcement purposes. The military is generally not permitted to be deployed on U.S. soil for domestic law enforcement purposes without authorization from Congress.
NBC News previously reported that White House officials had increasingly serious discussions about whether Trump should invoke the Insurrection Act. If Trump were to invoke the law, it would be the first time since former President George HW Bush invoked it during the 1992 Los Angeles riots.
Vance’s comments come as the White House has federalized National Guard troops with the goal of deploying them to Oregon and Illinois, with the goal of targeting Portland and Chicago. Both moves were temporarily blocked in court. The White House’s willingness to deploy troops to Democratic-led cities has alarmed critics, who say the move is excessive and serves political purposes.
Responding to the question about the Insurrection Act, Vance highlighted attacks on law enforcement officers who enforce immigration laws.
“The problem here is not the Insurrection Act or whether or not we actually invoke it. The problem is the fact that the entire media in this country, egged on by a few far-left lunatics, has agreed to take on American law enforcement,” Vance told Welker. “We cannot accept this in the United States of America. »
Crime has decreased in Chicago and Portland, according to statistics from the Chicago Police Department and the city of Portland.
Pressed on whether there had been a “rebellion” in the cities to trigger the Insurrection Act, Vance accused the cities of not “keeping the statistics properly,” without providing proof.
“The president just wants people to stay safe, and we’re exploring everything we can do to ensure the American people are safe in their own country,” Vance said.
Trump has previously discussed invoking the Insurrection Act, telling reporters he would consider using the law “if it were necessary,” adding that “so far it hasn’t been necessary.”
“But we have an insurrection law for a reason,” Trump added last week. “If I had to sign it into law, I would. If people were killed and the courts held us back, or the governors or mayors held us back, of course I would.”
On Saturday, a federal appeals court blocked the White House from deploying federalized National Guard troops to Illinois. The troops can remain federalized, the court said, but cannot be deployed. Before the court’s ruling, National Guard troops had already begun arriving in the greater Chicago area.
The governments of Illinois and Chicago filed lawsuits after Trump announced the move, prompting a federal judge to temporarily block the administration from deploying National Guard troops there. The White House appealed the top judge’s ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit, which ruled against the deployments.
Also this month, a federal judge in Oregon blocked the White House from sending National Guard troops from any state to Portland as the case winds through the courts. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit is currently reviewing the case.
The Trump administration initially attempted to deploy Oregon National Guard troops to Portland, but when that move was blocked in court, the administration decided to deploy California troops to Portland instead. A federal judge ruled that the White House also cannot send National Guard troops from another state to Portland.
The appeals court panel indicated it may be willing to overturn the lower court’s decision. It is unclear when the court might finally rule. A judge on the panel said the court would try to rule as quickly as possible.
