10 U.S.C. § 12406
Section 12406 · National Guard in Federal service: call
Amended 2 times on record
Applied in 4 court decisions — leading case Trankel v. State, Dept. of Military Affairs (1997)
Most recently applied in Newsom v. Trump (June 2025)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
Whenever—
(1) the United States, or any of the Commonwealths or possessions, is invaded or is in danger of invasion by a foreign nation;
(2) there is a rebellion or danger of a rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States; or
(3) the President is unable with the regular forces to execute the laws of the United States;
the President may call into Federal service members and units of the National Guard of any State in such numbers as he considers necessary to repel the invasion, suppress the rebellion, or execute those laws. Orders for these purposes shall be issued through the governors of the States or, in the case of the District of Columbia, through the commanding general of the National Guard of the District of Columbia.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Prior Provisions
Provisions similar to those in this section were contained in sections 3500 and 8500 of this title, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 103–337, §1662(f)(2).
Amendments
2006—Par. (1). Pub. L. 109–163 substituted “Commonwealths or possessions” for “Territories, Commonwealths, or possessions”.