Texas Attorney General Claims Trump Has Authority to Deploy Troops Under Insurrection Act
By Solange Reyner | Friday, 16 January 2026 07:10 PM EST
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said President Donald Trump has the authority under the Insurrection Act to deploy federal troops domestically in specific circumstances.
Paxton stated on Friday that Trump “certainly has the right” to invoke the act when there is domestic violence, armed conflict with a state or its residents who refuse to quell such unrest. He also noted the provision could apply if state governments fail to address violence or lawlessness, or if actions threaten Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations.
Paxton pointed out that former presidents George H.W. Bush, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and John F. Kennedy all used the Insurrection Act, as did Lyndon B. Johnson. He added: “It’s been used when there are out-of-control states who aren’t enforcing state and federal laws.”
The threat followed Trump’s warning to deploy troops amid protests in Minneapolis over federal immigration enforcement after a shooting involving an immigration officer and an earlier fatal shooting by an ICE agent.
The 1807 law permits presidents to deploy military forces during civil unrest but has rarely been invoked.
