Durbin Implores Colleagues To Reform The Centuries-Old Insurrection Act
As President Trump floats invoking the Insurrection Act as another means for dangerous executive overreach, Senate Democrats encourage colleagues to support commonsense reform
WASHINGTON – In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, encouraged his colleagues to support commonsense reforms to the outdated Insurrection Act. Introduced by U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Alex Padilla (D-CA), and Adam Schiff (D-CA), the Insurrection Act of 2025 would reform centuries-old legislation that gives the President broad and vague authority to deploy troops—either with or without the request of a state.
Durbin began by describing the chaos that President Trump is sowing in Chicago and the state of Illinois, saying: “The state that I love is under siege by this Administration. If you think I'm exaggerating, imagine, if you will for a moment, a President who has decided to declare that your town, your state is somehow on his list to face punitive action by the delegation of military force. That's what's happening in Illinois. That's what's happening in Chicago… The President has designated Chicago as ‘uninhabitable, unlivable, violent.’ It's just a lie … To argue that the city is danger us to and needs to be occupied by National Guard troops from the state of Illinois and the state of Texas is completely, completely wrong.”
Durbin continued by articulating the threat President Trump’s possible invocation of the Insurrection Act poses, saying: “In the hands of a man who wants to be a king, who nearly every day undermines the checks and balances of the Constitution—the Insurrection Act as it stands today would serve as yet another tool for dangerous executive overreach. Since its enactment in the 1800s, Presidents of both parties have relied on the Insurrection Act selectively. And as we have discovered over time, the law is dangerously outdated, vague, and vulnerable to abuse if wielded by a President that refuses to act in good faith. President Trump talks frequently about the so-called ‘enemy within’ the United States. He has no qualms about spreading baseless lies about a ‘rebellion” or ‘emergency’ in American cities to justify his abuse of power. Whether it is unleashing federal agents to detain people based on the color of their skin in Chicago or improperly deploying the Marines for civilian law enforcement in Los Angeles, you see example after example.”
Durbin then outlined how President Trump’s proposal runs contrary to the Founders’ intentions, citing comments from across the political spectrum, saying: “The Founders of this nation designed the Constitution to protect generations of Americans from the abuses unfolding before our eyes today. To prevent Presidents from using the military as a weapon of tyranny, the Framers of the Constitution constrained the role of the military in civilian affairs, gave Congress control over when the military may be deployed, and barred the federal government from usurping state powers. While the Insurrection Act gives the President greater authority to deploy the military within the United States, it was never for the purpose President Trump is proposing … Republican Senators who are quiet about the President’s misuse of this office and misuse of power would not be quiet if it was in their home states.”
Durbin concluded with a plea to his Republican colleagues to put country over party, saying: “I don't exaggerate when I tell you that having spent my life in government service, I'm more worried now than I've ever been about the fate of this republic. When I see the possibility of the use of the Insurrection Act by this President, I worry our democracy will struggle to survive. I believe so dearly in this country. I've taken an oath willingly and happily to defend its Constitution … We have a lot at stake now in this national debate. It's about a lot more than who gets the morning headline or who wins the next election. What is at stake is the future of our democracy and this Insurrection Act can be misused by this President. We've seen evidence of it in Illinois and Chicago. I thank the Senator from Connecticut for leading this conversation that must continue.”
Blumenthal ultimately sought unanimous consent to pass the legislation. U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) objected.
Video of Durbin’s remarks on the floor is available here.
Audio of Durbin’s remarks on the floor is available here.
Footage of Durbin’s remarks on the floor is available here for TV Stations.
-30-