Trump announces National Guard exit from 3 cities, questions linger over crime
Donald Trump (photo: Getty Images)
US President Donald Trump said his administration is withdrawing the National Guard from Chicago, Los Angeles, and Portland, adding that federal forces would return if crime levels rise, according to Reuters.
Trump said the deployment of troops in Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, Memphis, and Portland had been necessary to combat crime and protect federal property and personnel from protesters.
“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. We will come back, perhaps in a much different and stronger form, when crime begins to soar again - Only a question of time!,” Trump wrote.
The president’s statement came shortly before a federal appeals court ruled on Wednesday that his administration must return hundreds of California National Guard troops to the control of Governor Gavin Newsom.
Earlier, on December 23, the US Supreme Court blocked Trump’s attempt to deploy the National Guard in Illinois, undermining his legal justification for sending troops to other states. The court said the president’s authority to place National Guard units under federal control likely applies only in exceptional circumstances.
Reuters notes that local leaders in cities where the National Guard was deployed, as well as Democrats, have said the deployments were unnecessary. They accused the Trump administration of overstepping federal authority and exaggerating isolated incidents of violence to justify sending in troops.
Judges reviewing lawsuits filed by cities challenging the deployments have repeatedly issued the same rulings.
In those decisions, the courts said the Trump administration exceeded its powers and found no evidence to support the need for a National Guard presence to protect federal property from protesters.
In the fall of 2025, judges were divided over Trump’s actions.
In particular, on October 4, a federal court in the US state of Oregon barred Trump from deploying National Guard units in Portland.
However, several weeks later, an appeals court ruled that the White House could send the National Guard to Portland despite objections from city and state officials.
