Comments come after reports that Pentagon officials are increasingly uneasy about Trump’s use of military personnel.

United States Defense Secretary Mark Esper said on Wednesday that he does not support invoking the Insurrection Act to deploy active-duty forces to quell civil unrest, and added that he regretted using the word “battlespace” to describe areas gripped by protest.

Esper also said he was unaware that he would be part of President Donald Trump’s politically-charged photo opportunity on Monday when law enforcement forcibly cleared a park outside the White House of peaceful protesters so the president could take a picture in front of a church while holding a Bible.

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Speaking to reporters at the Pentagon, Esper said active-duty troops in a law enforcement role should be used in the US “only in the most urgent and dire of situations”, adding, “We are not in one of those situations now.”

Use of the Insurrection Act has been discussed as Trump has talked about using the military to quell violent protests in US cities. Esper has authorised the movement of several active-duty Army units to military bases just outside the nation’s capital, but they have not been called to action.

In his Pentagon remarks, Esper strongly criticised the actions of the Minneapolis police, in whose custody George Floyd died after an officer held his knee to Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes. Esper called the act “murder” and “a horrible crime”.

Trump on Wednesday defended his decision to deploy troops to the capital, saying the massive show of force is a model for states to follow as they attempt to quell the nationwide unrest.

In an interview on Fox News Radio on Wednesday, Trump argued that the show of force was responsible for protests in Washington, DC and other cities turning more calm in recent days, and he repeated his criticism of governors who have not deployed their National Guard soldiers to the fullest.

“You have to have a dominant force,” Trump said in the interview. “We need law and order.”

The National Guard is ready! https://t.co/AifVRgWOlM

On Tuesday evening, the nation’s streets were calmer than they have been in days since Floyd’s killing set off mostly peaceful but sometimes violent demonstrations over police brutality and injustice against African-Americans.

Earlier curfews and efforts by protesters to contain the lawlessness were credited with preventing more widespread damage to businesses in New York and other cities overnight on Tuesday.

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