President Donald Trump takes questions from the White House press as he boards his helicopter for a flight to Norfolk, VA, on October 5, 2025. Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and First Lady Melania accompany him on this trip. (Photo by Andrew Leyden/NurPhoto via AP)
President Donald Trump is “seriously” considering invoking the Insurrection Act in order to more easily deploy National Guard troops to major cities as part of his push to thwart crime, NBC reported on Wednesday, based on “five people with knowledge” of the situation.
The president’s “increasingly serious discussions” have come as he has deployed thousands of National Guard troops to cities like Chicago in recent months — moves that have been met with significant pushback from Democratic politicians, including Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, who sued the president on Monday.
The Insurrection Act has been invoked 30 times in U.S. history, usually in response to civil unrest, rebellions, and other crises. It was most recently used by President George H.W. Bush in 1992, when he federalized the California National Guard and sent federal troops to Los Angeles to stop rioting, following the acquittal of police officers in the Rodney King case.
A decision on whether Trump invokes the act is not “imminent,” according to “one senior administration official” who spoke to NBC.
The president has said recently he will invoke the act “if it was necessary” to help him combat crime. Beyond Chicago, Trump has looked to send troops to Portland, Oregon and Memphis, Tennessee, where National Guard members could be arriving by the end of the week.
President Trump has said he wants to crack down on crime in The Windy City because he was disgusted by news reports about how many people were shot over Labor Day Weekend.
“When I watch television last night, and I’m watching the news and I see that nine people were killed in Chicago and 54 were badly wounded with bullets, I say, ‘That’s not our country. We have to do something,’” Trump said in early September.
ABC 7 in Chicago reported 58 people were shot in the city over the holiday weekend, which was an 87% surge from the same time the year before.
Pritzker and Johnson have strongly opposed the president, with Pritzker saying the president has been “inciting” violence by sending federal agents to his state.
Trump’s push has been met with opposition in several blue states, including in Oregon, where a federal judge on Sunday ruled the president could not send National Guard members from other states.
The post BREAKING: Trump Admin ‘Seriously’ Considering Using the Insurrection Act, Reports NBC first appeared on Mediaite.
