{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.welch.senate.gov/in-response-to-president-trumps-overreach-welch-supports-blumenthals-push-to-reform-the-insurrection-act/", "In Response to President Trump\u2019s Overreach, Welch Supports Blumenthal\u2019s Push to Reform the Insurrection Act", "2025-10-22", "2025", "2025-10", "Democrat", "Senate", "VT", "Peter Welch", "W000800", "www.welch.senate.gov", "welch", "https://www.welch.senate.gov/category/press-release/page/", "scraper", "Senate Republicans block resolution to prohibit Trump Administration from weaponizing U.S. military against American citizens\n\nWASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) spoke in support of legislation led by Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) to reform and right-size the Insurrection Act, an emergency, near-wartime authority measure President Trump has expressed interest in invoking in order to use the U.S. military to harass American citizens attending peaceful protests. In his remarks, Senator Welch demanded reforms to limit current and future administrations from abusing the Insurrection Act and deploying U.S. troops to police Americans exercising their right to free speech. The resolution was blocked by Senate Republicans.\n\nThe new Insurrection Act of 2025 would reform centuries-old legislation that gives the President broad and vague authority to deploy troops\u2014either with or without the request of a state\u2014to suppress \u201cany insurrection, domestic violence, unlawful combination, or conspiracy.\u201d No President has invoked the Insurrection Act to activate troops without the invitation of a governor in over 50 years, given the potential for the military to escalate tensions, rather than restore order, during a domestic crisis.\n\n\u201cEssentially, this President\u2014from day one\u2014has been overreaching the use of executive authority and declarations of emergencies. And it\u2019s everything from tariffs\u2014where Article I gives Congress the authority to pass those or invoke those, not the President\u2014and now to the use of the National Guard as a private police force that basically serves the will of the President and for political purposes. It is extraordinary, in our country, to have the National Guard deployed. It is even more extraordinary to have the military deployed. There are circumstances where that can be done, but not at the whim of an Executive who does it for political reasons,\u201d said Senator Welch.\n\n\u201cThe importance of the Senator\u2019s bill is that this Congress act to set definitions on what so-called \u2018emergencies\u2019 are and not leave it up to an Executive who has demonstrated, repeatedly, that he will overreach\u2014he has, and he will.\u201d\n\nWatch Senator Welch\u2019s speech below:\n\nRead a key excerpt from Senator Welch\u2019s remarks:\n\n\u201cWhat you\u2019re seeing is an act of political will for a political purpose\u2014not for a public safety purpose\u2026And make no mistake, there\u2019s no limits to what this President will do. He starts in L.A., goes to Portland, he wants to go to Baltimore. And then, for the purpose of putting down what he claims is \u2018lawless behavior\u2019\u2014but upon review by local judges who have the evidence, find that it\u2019s nothing out of the ordinary that the local jurisdiction and law enforcement forces can\u2019t handle\u2014what\u2019s next? Will we see military deployed to cities where the President does not like the outcome of the vote in the next election? That\u2019s a fair question.\u201d\n\n\u2022\u2022\u2022\n\nThe new Insurrection Act of 2025 would:\n\nNarrow and clarify the criteria for the domestic deployment of military troops for law enforcement purposes.\n\nSpecify that the use of the military is a last resort and is authorized only if the use of civilian law enforcement authorities would be insufficient.\n\nClarify that the law cannot be used to suspend habeas corpus, impose martial law, or deputize private militias to act as soldiers.\n\nRequire 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.\n\nRequire a report to Congress providing an explicit justification for the use of the Insurrection Act\u2019s authority, as enumerated in this legislation, and a full description of the scope and duration of its use.\n\nProvide for judicial review to ensure that individuals, or a state or local government, may bring a civil action if the President\u2019s authority under the Insurrection Act is misused or abused.\n\nIn addition to Sens. Welch and Blumenthal, the Insurrection Act of 2025 is cosponsored by Sens. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), 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.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), and Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.).\n\nLearn more about his work by visiting his website or by following him on social media.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:32:54Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.welch.senate.gov/in-response-to-president-trumps-overreach-welch-supports-blumenthals-push-to-reform-the-insurrection-act/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.2164471447467804, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}