President Donald Trump announced Wednesday he is pulling the National Guard from Chicago, Los Angeles and Portland, although the troops already had a limited presence because those states had sued to block their deployment.
Trump said on his social media platform Truth Social that troops would return if “crime begins to soar again.”
“We are removing the National Guard from Chicago, Los Angeles, and Portland, despite the fact that CRIME has been greatly reduced by having these great Patriots in those cities, and ONLY by that fact,” Trump wrote.
The Trump administration has been battling lawsuits aimed at removing the National Guard from cities in blue states.
“We will come back, perhaps in a much different and stronger form, when crime begins to soar again — Only a question of time!” Trump’s post said.
Troops had already been pulled from Los Angeles after being deployed in June to crack down on crime and immigration. In Chicago and Portland, troops were deployed, but never took to the streets amid legal challenges.
Shortly before Christmas, the Supreme Court blocked Trump’s deployment of the National Guard to Chicago. While the ruling was temporary and only applied directly to Illinois, it had significant ramifications for the president’s efforts to send the National Guard to cities across the country to fight crime and protect immigration facilities.
Trump has claimed largely unfettered authority to deploy the National Guard, but the justices ruled he likely could only federalize the troops under “exceptional” circumstances such as a foreign invasion, rebellion or when the regular military is unable to enforce federal law because order has broken down.
“At this preliminary stage, the Government has failed to identify a source of authority that would allow the military to execute the laws in Illinois,” the justices wrote.
National Guard members were deployed Tuesday in New Orleans to boost security during New Year’s celebrations and are expected to remain on the ground. Troops also remain on the ground in Washington and Memphis.
The post Trump ends effort to bring National Guard to Chicago, Los Angeles and Portland appeared first on Washington Post.
