1. United States
2. Ohio
3. Letter

I am writing to urge you to support legislation that would restrict the president's authority to invoke the Insurrection Act of 1807 and to oppose any unnecessary deployment of federal troops for domestic law enforcement purposes. President Trump has repeatedly signaled his intention to use the Insurrection Act, stating in 2024 that "The next time, I am not waiting" to deploy troops without being asked by local authorities. Vice President JD Vance confirmed on October 12 that "the president is looking at all his options" and is not opposed to using the act. Loren Voss, a Lawfare public service fellow, believes the administration is "building a case before invoking something like the Insurrection Act." Most troubling, Trump stated this month he would invoke the act "if the courts get in our way," which Joseph Nunn of the Brennan Center for Justice calls "a direct threat to the rule of law." The Insurrection Act grants the president sweeping power to deploy military forces domestically, overriding the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878. Key terms like "insurrection," "domestic violence," and "unlawful obstruction" remain undefined in the statute, giving the president broad discretion. The law has not been substantively amended since 1874, despite dramatic changes in our society and military capabilities. The last time it was invoked was 33 years ago in 1992 during the Los Angeles unrest, and the last time a president deployed troops without a governor's consent was in 1965 when President Johnson protected civil rights marchers. I urge you to support Senator Richard Blumenthal's legislation introduced in June to restrict this authority. Proposed reforms include narrowing the circumstances under which the president can invoke the act, requiring consultation with Congress and explanation of the rationale, and limiting domestic military deployments to 30 days. These common-sense reforms would preserve the act for genuine emergencies while preventing its use as a political weapon to circumvent judicial oversight or override local authority.