Republican lawmakers are escalating their rhetoric against Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, urging President Donald Trump to invoke the Insurrection Act following Walz’s warning that he may deploy the Minnesota National Guard to counter federal immigration enforcement actions in his state.
The calls intensified after Rep. Mary Miller (R-IL) posted on X demanding presidential action. “Invoke the Insurrection Act. Arrest Tim Walz,” Miller wrote, framing the governor’s comments as a direct challenge to federal authority. Walz had suggested that National Guard forces could be mobilized to impede operations by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which he and other Democrats have criticized for aggressive enforcement tactics.
At a news conference, Walz said he had issued a “warning order” to prepare the Guard, noting that troops were in training and could be deployed if necessary. “These National Guard troops are our National Guard troops,” he said, emphasizing state control. He also asserted that Minnesota did not require additional federal involvement, singling out the Trump administration and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in his remarks.
The governor’s comments followed a tense incident in metropolitan Minneapolis in which a federal law enforcement officer shot 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good after she allegedly attempted to run over the agent on an icy street. The episode heightened concerns about public safety and jurisdictional authority, sharpening partisan divisions over immigration enforcement.
Republicans argue that Walz’s posture crosses a constitutional line. Minnesota law permits the governor to deploy the National Guard for state defense, law enforcement, and the protection of residents. However, GOP lawmakers contend that using state forces to obstruct federal agents would amount to insurrection.
Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-WI) warned that history offers a grim precedent, invoking Fort Sumter, the 1861 flashpoint that ignited the Civil War. “If a state militia acts against the federal government, that is actually a civil war,” he said, calling Walz’s comments reckless.
Rep. Rich McCormick (R-GA) echoed the concern, arguing that threatening to deploy a military force against federal officers was unprecedented in modern politics.
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) framed the dispute as a basic civics lesson. In a post on X, she reminded Walz that the president serves as commander in chief and that federal authority supersedes state authority under the Constitution. “What Walz is threatening has a name: insurrection,” Mace wrote, urging the White House to use its legal powers.
As the confrontation escalates, the episode underscores the broader national battle over immigration policy, federalism, and the limits of state resistance—raising the stakes for a constitutional clash that could reverberate well beyond Minnesota.
Invoke the Insurrection Act.
Arrest Tim Walz. https://t.co/r7i7MnlWrT
— Rep. Mary Miller (@RepMaryMiller) January 8, 2026