Republican lawmakers are urging President Donald Trump to invoke a federal insurrection statute after Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz suggested he could deploy the state’s National Guard to interfere with federal immigration enforcement.
Rep. Mary Miller (R-Ill.) was among the first to call for action, writing bluntly on X this week, “Invoke the Insurrection Act. Arrest Tim Walz.” Her remarks followed comments Walz made during a Wednesday news conference in which he warned that Minnesota was prepared to mobilize its Guard forces.
“I have orders to prepare the Minnesota National Guard,” Walz said. “We have soldiers in training and prepared to be deployed if necessary. I remind you, a warning order is a heads up for folks. And these National Guard troops are our National Guard troops.”
Walz’s remarks came amid heightened tensions between state and federal officials following a Wednesday incident in metropolitan Minneapolis in which a federal law enforcement officer shot and killed 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good after she allegedly attempted to run over the agent on a snow-covered street. The incident intensified criticism from Walz, who told reporters that Minnesota did not want further federal involvement.
“We do not need any further help from the federal government,” Walz said. “To Donald Trump and Kristi Noem, you’ve done enough. I’ve issued a warning order to prepare the Minnesota National Guard.”
Under Minnesota law, the governor is authorized to deploy the National Guard for “defense or relief of the state, the enforcement of the law, [or] the protection of persons,” according to Fox News. However, Republican lawmakers argue that using state military forces to obstruct federal immigration enforcement would cross a constitutional line.
Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.) warned that Walz’s comments echoed historical events with grave consequences. “The last time they did that was at Fort Sumter and it started the Civil War,” Van Orden said, referring to the 1861 attack that launched the deadliest conflict in American history. “If a state militia acts against the federal government that is actually a civil war. So that guy needs to shut his damn mouth now because he is calling for civil war.”
Rep. Rich McCormick (R-Ga.) echoed those concerns, saying Walz was threatening to “bring out a military force to oppose a federal armed force.”
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) framed the dispute as a constitutional issue, emphasizing federal supremacy over the states. “Someone remind him: Donald Trump is the Commander in Chief. And federal authority supersedes state authority,” Mace wrote on X. “That’s not an opinion, that’s the Constitution.”
Mace went further, arguing that Walz’s remarks amounted to a direct challenge to federal authority. “What Walz is threatening has a name: insurrection,” she wrote, adding, “Mr. President, the law is on your side. Use it.”
The Insurrection Act grants the president authority to deploy federal forces and take action against individuals or entities that obstruct the enforcement of federal law. While Trump has not publicly responded to lawmakers’ calls, the escalating rhetoric underscores growing friction between federal immigration enforcement efforts and Democratic state leaders resisting them.
READ NEXT: Trump Cabinet Official Calls On Tim Walz To Resign
Ok, I think he is done!
Why don’t republicans pass a law preventing Waltz like they did to Trump and Venezuela? Because they can’t find five Democrat senators willing to backstab their party. Collins, Murkowski, Paul have to go. Traitors aren’t welcome.
You can remove the “allegedly” from your text, video proof of the moron mommy heading that 2500 pound lethal weapon at the officer is out there and from more than one angle. That constitutes “attempted murder of a police officer” Thanks for your attention to this matter