Trump says he would invoke the Insurrection Act 'if it was necessary'

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said he would consider invoking the Insurrection Act to send the military into cities if courts block his deployment of National Guard troops.

“I’d do it if it was necessary. 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 Monday in the Oval Office.

The Insurrection Act, invoked only 30 times in American history, gives the president the power to deploy U.S. armed forces to suppress rebellions and civil unrest when federal laws are being obstructed.

Trump’s remarks come as his deployment of federal troops to protect federal buildings and crack down on crime has faced setbacks in court and invited new legal challenges from Democrats.

“If people were being killed, and courts were holding us up, or governors or mayors were holding us up, sure, I’d do that,” Trump said of the Insurrection Act. “I want to make sure people aren’t killed. We have to make sure our cities are safe.”

A federal judge in Oregon on Sunday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from sending any National Guard troops to Portland, Oregon, where Trump has sought to use troops to protect an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility. The judge’s decision has put in limbo hundreds of California National Guardsmen who had been deployed to Portland.

Stephen Miller, White House deputy chief of staff, told reporters the administration is “availing ourselves of all available options” while it appeals the judge’s decision.

In a separate legal battle, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat, sued the Trump administration on Oct. 6 in an attempt to block the deployment of National Guard troops to the streets of Chicago.

“There’s a huge problem in Portland. I’ll tell you what the problem is: Crime,” Trump said. “There’s a huge problem in Chicago. It’s called crime. And we want to put out the crime and they want to inflame the crime.”