President Donald Trump on Monday floated the idea of invoking the Insurrection Act to bypass judicial processes and deploy federal troops to cities like Portland and Chicago—both Democratic strongholds that have pushed back hard against federal intervention.
Speaking about unrest in Portland, Trump said he’s considering taking matters into his own hands—sidestepping governors, courts, and constitutional norms.
The Insurrection Act, a rarely used 18th-century law, allows a president to deploy the military on U.S. soil under limited and extreme conditions. It was last updated in 1871 and was most notably invoked during the 1992 Los Angeles riots when then-Governor Pete Wilson requested help from President George H.W. Bush.
But Trump doesn’t seem interested in waiting for permission. He’s eyeing a lesser-used clause in the act that allows the president to send troops without state consent if he deems that “unlawful obstructions, combinations, or assemblages, or rebellion” are making it “impracticable to enforce the laws of the United States…by the ordinary course of judicial proceedings.”
Translation: Trump could claim protests or local defiance amount to rebellion, skip the courts entirely, and roll in federal forces.
Portland City Officials Fire Back
In a letter to the Department of Justice, City Attorney Robert Taylor accused the federal government of trampling the Constitution.
“In Portland, we appear to be witnessing the federal government engaging in unconstitutional uses of force in violation of the Fourth Amendment against otherwise peaceful demonstrators exercising their First Amendment rights,” Taylor wrote.
He pointed to disturbing incidents of force used against veterans, elderly people, and peaceful protesters—adding that federal agents appeared to be “targeting demonstrators based on the content of their speech.”
In a sharp rebuke, Taylor wrote, “Does the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice care about the Constitution anymore?” He closed the letter with a plea: “Please do not fail Portland and please do not fail America. Please investigate — and stop — the apparent First and Fourth Amendment violations occurring in Portland by the federal government.”
Chicago Stands Its Ground
Meanwhile, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson issued his own blistering response after the Trump administration deployed 300 National Guard troops to his city—again, without state consent.
“This president wants to undermine the very constitution that we fought and died and bled for,” Johnson told Anderson Cooper on CNN Monday night. “It’s incumbent upon all of us, and particularly the residents across this country, to fight back.”
The city and state of Illinois filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration earlier the same day, calling the deployment “illegal, unconstitutional and dangerous.”
Johnson slammed Trump’s tactics as a political stunt designed to provoke. “Nowhere in the country am I hearing mayors request that we occupy the cities in America with the military,” he said.
He also took a stand for the military itself: “The brave women and men who signed up to protect our democracy did not do it with the idea of being used against the American people.”
White House Defends Trump’s crackdown.
In response to the backlash, the Trump White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson told CNN: “The facts haven’t changed, President Trump exercised his lawful authority to protect federal assets and personnel in Portland following violent riots and attacks on law enforcement.”
A Justice Department spokesperson echoed the line, saying, “Portland has let lawlessness take hold now just like it did in 2020,” and insisted that the “DOJ has and continues to enforce civil rights for all Americans — including the people of Portland who deserve law and order.”
But critics argue the administration is selectively enforcing law and order — and weaponizing federal power to suppress political dissent in cities that oppose Trump’s agenda.
A Dangerous Precedent
Trump’s threat to use the Insurrection Act without state approval isn’t just a legal curveball — it’s a high-stakes power move that could fundamentally reshape how force is used within the U.S.
Historically, the Insurrection Act has been a last resort — not a political tool. But Trump appears to see it differently, framing Democratic-led cities as failed states that justify federal takeover.
The implications are enormous. Using troops to enforce federal law while skirting the courts? That’s not just aggressive — it’s authoritarian.
