Trump Considers Using Rebellion Act Amid Portland Tensions

President Donald Trump mentioned that he might invoke the Rebellion Act to send federal troops to US cities, following a federal judge’s decision that blocked his administration from deploying National Guard units to Portland.

During a press conference in the Oval Office on Monday, Trump stated, “If that’s what you need, you’ll do it. It’s not been necessary so far, but we have the rebellion law for a reason.” This 1807 law hasn’t been invoked since the 1992 riots in Los Angeles.

He emphasized the importance of ensuring safety, saying, “If I have to enact it, I’ll do it. I don’t want people getting killed. We need to make our cities safe.” Trump expressed concern that if the courts or local officials were holding up actions needed for safety, he would take necessary measures.

The Rebellion Act allows the president to activate troops to quell insurrections and to enforce federal laws. This could enable him to federalize local security forces and deploy active-duty military members to restore order, bypassing the constraints of the Posse Comitatus Act, which generally limits military involvement in domestic law enforcement.

Later, in a discussion with Newsmax, Trump qualified his stance, saying, “If we don’t need to use it, I wouldn’t use it.” However, he referred to the unrest in Portland as a “pure rebellion,” reflecting on a situation he described as “on fire” and indicative of criminal activity.

This came after a federal judge’s ruling on Sunday that halted the deployment of California and Texas National Guard troops to Portland, amidst ongoing protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The same court had previously blocked the president from sending in Oregon’s local security forces.

Despite the contentious backdrop, Trump stressed that action was necessary, remarking, “We need to save something else because I think it’s all the rebellion.” Yet, Judge Karin Immergut, appointed by Trump, noted that there was insufficient evidence to justify the need for federal troops for the recent protests.

Approximately 100 National Guard members were already stationed in Portland to manage increasingly contentious protests outside the ICE facility, and that number was expected to double before the judge intervened.

California and Oregon were pressing for federal support despite legal challenges. White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller criticized the judge’s ruling as a severe violation of constitutional norms, stating, “There is no legal distinction between state volunteer security guards to protect borders and volunteer security guards to guard federal immigration facilities.” He insisted on the importance of federal supremacy in these matters.

In addition, Trump ordered security forces from other states to assist in cities like Chicago and Memphis. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker accused the Trump administration of manipulating situations to create unrest, suggesting that this chaos is a strategy to justify calling upon the Rebellion Act.

During his earlier term, Trump had considered activating the act in response to protests following George Floyd’s death but ultimately did not proceed with that avenue.