In this episode, William Banks of Syracuse University College of Law and Laura Dickinson of the George Washington University Law School join to discuss the history and meaning of the Insurrection Act, which authorizes the president to deploy the U.S. military for domestic law enforcement purposes. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.
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Today’s episode was produced by Bill Pollock and Griffin Richie. It was engineered by Bill Pollock. Research was provided by Griffin Richie, Anna Salvatore, Trey Sullivan, and Tristan Worsham.
Participants
William Banks is a Syracuse University College of Law Board of Advisors Distinguished Professor and professor emeritus of public administration and international affairs in the Maxwell School. Banks has written widely on national security, emergency powers, and civilian-military relations, and he is most recently the co-author of Soldiers on the Home Front: The Domestic Role of the American Military.
Laura Dickinson is the Lyle T. Alverson Professor of Law at The George Washington University Law School, where she focuses on national security, human rights, and the law of armed conflict. She is the author of Outsourcing War and Peace and contributes regularly to the national security blog, Just Security.
Jeffrey Rosen is the president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, a nonpartisan nonprofit organization devoted to educating the public about the U.S. Constitution. He is also professor of law at the George Washington University Law School and a contributing editor of The Atlantic. His newest book, Pursuit of Liberty: How Hamilton vs. Jefferson Ignited the Lasting Battle over Power in America, is out in October 2025.
Additional Resources
- Illinois v. Trump (N.D. Illinois, 2025)
- United States v. Cruikshank (1875)
- Martin v. Mott (1827)
- William Banks and Stephen Dycus, Soldiers on the Home Front: The Domestic Role of the American Military (2016)
- William Banks, “Providing ‘Supplemental Security’ – The Insurrection Act and the Military Role in Responding to Domestic Crises,” Journal of National Security Law & Policy (12/15/2009)
- Laura Dickinson, “Protecting the U.S. National Security State from a Rogue President,” Harvard National Security Journal (1/9/2025)
- Laura Dickinson, “How the Insurrection Act (Properly Understood) Limits Domestic Deployments of the U.S. Military,” Lawfare (9/12/2024)
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