Trump says he’s removing National Guard from Chicago, Los Angeles and Portland
President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he is withdrawing National Guard troops from Chicago, Los Angeles and Portland, Oregon, following a major setback at the Supreme Court.
“We will come back, perhaps in a much different and stronger form, when crime starts to skyrocket again – It’s only a matter of time! » Trump said on Truth Social.
The Supreme Court last week rejected an emergency request from the Trump administration that the troops were needed to protect federal agents working in Chicago to enforce immigration policies.
In an unsigned order, the court rejected the administration’s contention that circumstances on the ground in Illinois met the criteria for the president to invoke a federal law allowing him to call the National Guard into federal service.
“At this preliminary stage, the government has failed to identify a source of authority that would enable the military to execute the laws in Illinois,” the court ruled.
The decision only affected Chicago, but it risked reinforcing other challenges to National Guard deployments. This does not apply to the District of Columbia, where troops have also been deployed, because it is a federal district and not a state.
A spokesperson for California Gov. Gavin Newsom — a Democrat — said in an email Wednesday: “We won in court and we forced him to do this. Trump’s ramblings here are the political version of “you can’t fire me, I’ll quit.”
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, also a Democrat, said on X that “Donald Trump is lying again.”
“He lost in court when Illinois opposed his attempt to militarize American cities with the National Guard. Now Trump is forced to step down,” Pritzker said.
Oregon Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek said in an emailed statement that “my office has not yet received official notification that the remaining federalized troops of the Oregon National Guard can return home.”
“They were never legally deployed to Portland and their presence was not necessary,” Kotek said. “If President Trump ultimately chooses to follow court orders and demobilize our troops, that is a great victory for the people of Oregon and for the rule of law.”
Trump initially deployed National Guard troops to Los Angeles in June following turmoil between anti-immigration protesters and law enforcement. Then, in October, 500 National Guard troops arrived in the Chicago area. That same month, the Trump administration activated 200 troops for Portland.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday ordered the Trump administration to return control of the California National Guard to Newsom, lifting a pause it imposed this month.
Trump has used the National Guard deployment as a political stick, sending troops into Democratic-governed areas. In early December, the Associated Press reported that Trump said the National Guard would go to New Orleans.
On Dec. 22, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth “authorized the activation of up to 350 members of the Louisiana National Guard” who will be under the command of Republican Gov. Jeff Landry until Feb. 28, Defense Department spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement.
“These National Guard troops will support federal law enforcement partners, including the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security, as they enforce federal law and combat high rates of violent crime in New Orleans and other Louisiana metropolitan areas,” Parnell said.
Additionally, more than 2,400 National Guard members from 10 states and Washington, D.C. remain on the streets of the nation’s capital following a months-long deployment by the Trump administration.
