President Donald Trump and administration officials are identifying potential threats and scenarios that could justify invoking the Insurrection Act, according to sources familiar with internal discussions. The deliberations come as midterm election polls suggest Republicans risk losing control of both the House and Senate.
No U.S. president has ever invoked the Insurrection Act in connection with an election. Trump considered using the act twice previously: in June 2020 during the George Floyd protests and again in January during confrontations related to ICE deportations and shootings in Minneapolis.
The Insurrection Act grants authority for domestic deployment of U.S. military forces or federalization of the National Guard to suppress violent situations including rebellions, riots, protests and insurrections. President George H.W. Bush last invoked the act in 1992.
During his second term, Trump sought to normalize military deployments across six U.S. cities and threatened deployment in five additional cities, citing the need to protect Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents during deportation arrests, secure federal property and reduce crime. Court interventions repeatedly halted these actions.
From Trump's perspective, rising Republican concerns over midterm losses present an opportunity to use military force or potentially federalize elections. A Democratic-controlled Congress would likely launch intensive investigations that could impair his final two years and challenge his legacy.
Trump has publicly stated he does not lose elections, viewing defeat as weakness. His 2020 reelection loss preceded the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. Though he is not on the 2026 ballot, Trump has personalized the midterms, asking South Carolina voters to "pretend that I'm on the ballot." If Republicans lose Congress, a legal loophole could prevent or delay the seating of a newly elected Democratic majority.
At a Republican midterm convention in Dallas, Trump led supporters in a pledge to vote and urged them to "do it anyway, I don't care if I'm registered or not, I'm going to try and cheat like hell like they [Democrats] do." He then asked the crowd, "You know what happens if you don't vote? You go to hell."
