Vance Pushed to Invoke Insurrection Act After Killing of Minnesota Nurse
Internal White House debates reveal VP JD Vance pushed to invoke the Insurrection Act days after federal agents fatally shot Alex Pretti, a Minnesota nurse protesting immigration policies.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Vice President JD Vance advocated for invoking the Insurrection Act in the days following the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti, a Minnesota critical care nurse who was protesting the Trump administration’s immigration policies, according to reporting by The New York Times.
Federal agents shot and killed Pretti while he was participating in demonstrations against the administration’s immigration enforcement actions. In the immediate aftermath, Vance pushed to use the Insurrection Act to escalate the federal government’s response, according to the Times.
Internal Debates Over Presidential Authority
The New York Times reported that President Trump considered suspending constitutional rights due to frustration with court rulings that had constrained the administration’s immigration enforcement efforts. The details of those internal deliberations come from reporting for a forthcoming book titled Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump.
According to the Times, the internal debates focused on how aggressively Trump should pursue the deportation of millions of immigrants and the extent of the crackdown on those protesting his administration’s policies.
Context of the Pretti Killing
Pretti was a critical care nurse from Minnesota who was killed by federal agents while protesting immigration policies. His death drew significant attention to the administration’s approach to handling demonstrations against its deportation efforts.
The Times headline on the report read: “Frustrated by Courts, Trump Weighed Suspending a Constitutional Right,” according to the Ohio Capital Journal, which flagged the story in its June 16, 2026 news roundup.
