Trump Ends Deployment of National Guard Troops in American Cities

After months of controversy, legal challenges and political backlash, President Trump has said that the administration would halt efforts to deploy National Guard troops to the Democrat-led cities of Chicago, Los Angeles and Portland. 

This comes a week after the Supreme Court ruled against the emergency powers the administration was using to deploy the troops to Chicago–one of the few cases in which the court has ruled against Trump in a case on the “emergency docket.” The Supreme Court majority wrote that “the Government has failed to identify a source of authority that would allow the military to execute the laws in Illinois.” The majority also explained that the government failed to warrant why Chicago required an exception to the Posse Comitatus Act. This nearly 150-year-old law typically prevents the federal branch from using the military as a domestic police force. 

The deployments began in June, when President Trump took control of the California National Guard to put down protests against immigration in Los Angeles. This deployment prompted two cases led by California against the administration. One appeals court ultimately ruled in favor of Trump, while a federal judge ruled against Trump, also claiming that the deployment violated the Posse Comitatus Act.

Since then, Trump has attempted to deploy the guard all over the country. Whether that is Washington DC or Portland, Oregon, a commonality between every location was that they are Democrat-led cities. 

While the Supreme Court has halted one of the Trump administration’s legal avenues, they have not halted all of them. In fact, Trump has repeatedly signaled that his willingness to invoke the Insurrection Act, an 1807 law that allows the president to deploy the military in US cities. The Insurrection Act would override the Posse Comitatus Act, the very act that has blocked the administration thus far. Furthermore, the legal requirements to enact the law, including “insurrection” and “domestic violence,” are so loosely defined that the President can define what situation the act qualifies under, giving Trump practically unilateral control to deploy the military. While not completely unprecedented, the usage of this law could set a dangerous modern precedent for executive expansion, as the law is typically used as a last resort. 

With the Trump administration withdrawing troops, it seems unlikely the act will be used too soon. But at the same time, we are seeing posts on Truth Social from Trump stating that “We will come back, perhaps in a much different and stronger form” when referring to the end of National Guard deployment. 

As America approaches its 250th birthday, the people of Democrat-led cities can celebrate wherever they want, but if the administration does end up invoking the Insurrection Act, there may be more than just cheering on those streets. 

Read more here:

• Alina Hartounian, NPR

• Nina Totenberg and Kat Lonsdorf, NPR

• Joseph Nunn, Brennan Center for Justice

• Kayla Epstein, BBC

• Genesis Magpayo, PBS