President Donald Trump announced Wednesday he is pulling the National Guard from Chicago, Los Angeles and Portland, Oregon, although the troops already had a limited presence because the states involved had sued to block their deployment.
Trump said on his social media platform Truth Social that troops would return “when crime begins to soar again.” He did not mention a recent Supreme Court order halting his deployment of the National Guard to Chicago with significant implications for their use in other cities.
“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,” he wrote — a claim not backed by data.
Troops remain on the ground in New Orleans and Memphis, with support from state officials, and in Washington, D.C., where the mayor does not have control over the D.C. National Guard.
The president’s retreat on the eve of a holiday follows the administration’s setbacks in 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 declared.
Several hours later, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit lifted its stay of a lower-court ruling and ordered the administration to return California National Guard troops to the control of Gov. Gavin Newsom (D).
“The President deployed these brave men and women against their own communities and without regard for the constitution and federal law,” Newsom said in a statement. “We welcome our California National Guard servicemembers back to state service.”
Most troops had already been pulled from Los Angeles after being sent in June amid protests over federal immigration raids. Troops later were ordered to go to Chicago and Portland, but they had a minimal to nonexistent presence in the streets as legal challenges were filed.
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 ramifications for the president’s efforts to send the National Guard to cities across the country, ostensibly to fight crime and protect immigration facilities.
The White House’s efforts to deploy the National Guard have provoked widespread backlash for months. State-based troops are usually under control of governors for response to local and state-level emergencies, including natural disasters. Still, in New Orleans and Memphis, Trump has acted with the approval of GOP governors and some local leaders.
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 ruling noted.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) said in a statement that the Supreme Court’s decision was “an important step in curbing the Trump Administration’s consistent abuse of power and slowing Trump’s march toward authoritarianism.”
The Department of Homeland Security has boasted that the Chicago operation reduced crime and said local officials failed to accomplish this for decades, even though violent crimes — including murders and shootings — were already down sharply before the federal action began.
In August, Trump also ordered thousands of Guard members to Washington to crack down on violent crime, spurring a lawsuit from D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb (D). But a federal appeals court said in a preliminary order in December that the National Guard could stay for now and that the Trump administration was likely to succeed in its appeal of a lower-court ruling. The judges said D.C.’s lack of legal autonomy gives the president wide authority over how the National Guard is implemented within city limits.
The Guard’s presence is currently scheduled to last in Washington through February.
National Guard members were deployed Tuesday in New Orleans to boost security during New Year’s celebrations. Troops have been utilized there before, including this year during Mardi Gras and the Super Bowl, just months after a deadly attack there on New Year’s Day.
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