June 23, 2025

Wyden and Merkley Introduce Legislation to Check Presidential Power Under the Insurrection Act

The senators are introducing legislation in the wake of Donald Trump deploying 2,000 more troops to Los Angeles

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley (both D-Ore.) said today they have joined 20 senators to introduce legislation that would limit the president’s unrestrained authority under the 217-year-old Insurrection Act.

The new Insurrection Act of 2025 would reform centuries-old legislation that gives the president broad authority to deploy troops without a state’s permission to suppress “any insurrection, domestic violence, unlawful combination, or conspiracy.” Historically, presidents have used this centuries-old legislation sparingly. However, Donald Trump has recently threatened to employ it, escalating tensions by deploying the U.S. military instead of prioritizing restoring order during domestic crises.

“Presidents swear to serve and protect all the American people by de-escalating tensions, not by turning our military against them,” Wyden said. “This bill ensures that presidents can’t deploy troops on U.S. soil in any of the 50 states without getting a state’s stamp of approval.”

“Trump's response to protests in California is purely authoritarian—an outrageous abuse of power designed to raise tensions. It should alarm us all,” Merkley said. “The military must never be weaponized by the President to suppress free speech and peaceful protest. I’ll fight to protect Americans’ rights and liberties with every tool at my disposal.”

In addition to Wyden and Merkley, the legislation is led by U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., Alex Padilla, D-Calif., Adam Schiff, D-Calif,Jack Reed, D-R.I., ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and cosponsored by U.S. Senators Cory Booker, D-N.J., Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., Edward J. Markey, D-Mass., Mazie K. Hirono, D-Hawaii, Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Chris Coons, D-Del., Peter Welch, D-Vt., Andy Kim, D-N.J., John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., Mark Warner, D-Va., and Mark Kelly, D-Ariz.

The new Insurrection Act of 2025 would:

  • Narrow and clarify the criteria for the domestic deployment of military troops for law enforcement purposes.

  • Specify the use of the military is a last resort and is authorized only if the use of civilian law enforcement authorities would be insufficient.

  • Clarify that the law cannot be used to suspend habeas corpus, impose martial law, or deputize private militias to act as soldiers.

  • Require the president to consult with Congress prior to invoking the Insurrection Act and receive Congressional approval if the President seeks to exercise authority under the Act for longer than 7 days. 

  • Require a report to Congress providing an explicit justification for the use of the Insurrection Act’s authority, as enumerated in this legislation, and a full description of the scope and duration of its use.

  • Provide for judicial review to ensure that individuals, or a state or local government, may bring a civil action if the president’s authority under the Insurrection Act is misused or abused.