Overview
- The U.S. Supreme Court blocked the Chicago deployment on December 23, and federal judges curtailed the use of Guard troops in Los Angeles and Portland under constraints such as the Posse Comitatus Act.
- Hours before the announcement, the administration dropped its bid to retain control of the California National Guard during an appeal after a judge ordered authority returned to Governor Gavin Newsom.
- A mid-December partial drawdown had left a residual National Guard presence in the three cities until this full withdrawal.
- President Trump claimed the deployments reduced crime and said the forces could return, perhaps in a different and stronger form.
- The orders targeted Democratic-led cities, including a separate deployment to Memphis to bolster immigration enforcement, drawing sustained legal challenges and criticism from opponents.