Maxwell School News and Commentary

"The Insurrection Act may be invoked only following an invasion, insurrection or widespread domestic violence," says William C. Banks, professor emeritus of public administration and international affairs. "Only if states attempt to leave the Union would state defiance enable Insurrection Act authority. Otherwise the states control their citizens' health, welfare and safety."

"Posse comitatus isn't the only legal problem. Everything that the United States does has to be based on some legal authority," says William C. Banks, professor emeritus of public administration and international affairs.