Trump says he’s removing National Guard from Chicago, Los Angeles and Portland
Trump pauses push to deploy National Guard in Chicago, citing legal hurdles
President Trump says he is backing off — for now — on plans to deploy National Guard troops in Chicago after legal challenges stalled similar efforts in Chicago, Los Angeles, and Portland.
CHICAGO - President Trump said in a post on Truth Social Wednesday that his administration is removing National Guard troops from Chicago, Los Angeles, and Portland, citing lower crime in those cities.
What we know:
The announcement comes about a week after the Supreme Court kept a judge’s block on the deployment of National Guard members to Chicago in place.
The administration initially sought to deploy hundreds of troops from Illinois and Texas to protect federal agents and property during Operation Midway Blitz, the sweeping immigration enforcement campaign that started in September. The Texas National Guard members were later sent home after being stationed at a base in Elwood, just south of suburban Joliet.
"We will come back, perhaps in a much different and stronger form, when crime begins to soar again - Only a question of time!" he wrote.
Trump claimed in his post that crime had been "greatly reduced" by having the troops in those cities, even though the troops were never actually deployed. A judge blocked the deployment after state officials sued the administration.
A federal judge said she found no substantial evidence to legally justify the Trump administration’s use of National Guard troops. The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to intervene and allow the deployment, but a majority refused.
The Trump administration has previously said their use of federal immigration agents in the Chicago area led to a sharp reduction in crime, but crime had already been falling in Chicago and across the country before the start of Operation Midway Blitz.
Challenges at every turn
The backstory:
Troops had already left Los Angeles after the president deployed them earlier this year as part of a broader crackdown on crime and immigration. They had been sent to Chicago and Portland but were never on the streets as legal challenges played out.
Trump’s push to deploy the troops in Democrat-led cities has been met with legal challenges at nearly every turn.
The Supreme Court in December refused to allow the Trump administration to deploy National Guard troops in the Chicago area as part of its crackdown on immigration. The order was not a final ruling but was a significant and rare setback by the high court for the president’s efforts.
In the nation’s capital, District of Columbia Attorney General Brian Schwalb sued to halt the deployments of more than 2,000 guardsmen.
In Oregon, a federal judge permanently blocked the deployment of National Guard troops there.
California National Guard troops had already been removed from the streets of Los Angeles by Dec. 15 after a court ruling. But an appeals court had paused a separate part of the order that required control of the Guard to return to Gov. Gavin Newsom.
In a Tuesday court filing, the Trump administration said it was no longer seeking a pause in that part of the order. That paves the way for the California National Guard troops to fully return to state control after Trump federalized the Guard in June.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.