US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday (31) that his government was withdrawing the National Guard from the cities of Chicago, Los Angeles and Portland, but added in his publication that federal forces “will return” if crime rates increase.
“We are withdrawing the National Guard from Chicago, Los Angeles and Portland, despite the fact that CRIME has been drastically reduced by the presence of these great patriots in these cities, and ONLY because of this fact,” Trump wrote on the social network Truth Social, arguing that these cities “would be destroyed if it were not for the intervention of the Federal Government.”
“We will come back, perhaps in a very different and stronger way, when crime starts to skyrocket again – it’s just a matter of time!”, added the president.
His announcement comes after the US Supreme Court last week rejected his request that the National Guard be sent to Chicago to protect ICE agents as part of the government’s immigration crackdown.
In , the Supreme Court suggested that the president’s power to federalize the Guard, which federal law allows when he can no longer enforce United States laws with “regular forces,” would not apply to the protection of agents who enforce immigration laws.
Although the decision was a blow to his administration’s efforts to crack down on illegal immigration, it seemed likely that Trump could still invoke the decision to send regular forces to Chicago and other cities.
Invoking the 19th-century law, a move Trump and his advisers repeatedly hinted at during the 2024 campaign and early in his second term, would give him broad authority to circumvent restrictions on the use of armed forces domestically.
Another Trump-authorized deployment of the National Guard to New Orleans began Tuesday as part of a heavy security presence for New Year’s celebrations, a year after the attack on partygoers on Bourbon Street that killed 14 people.
Trump has given no indication that he intends to withdraw the use of the National Guard in Washington, where it operates under a different federal law that has not been challenged before the Supreme Court.
The announcement of Trump’s withdrawal was welcomed by California Attorney General Rob Bonta, a Democrat, who said in a statement that the government was using the Guard as “political pawns” and sharply criticized Trump, calling him “a president desperate to be king.”
“While our rule of law remains threatened, our democratic institutions endure,” Bonta wrote. “My office will not back down — and we are ready for whatever battles lie ahead.”
A federal judge had previously ordered control of the California National Guard returned to Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, but that ruling had been put on hold while the administration appealed.
The Trump administration said in court filings Tuesday that it was no longer requesting a stay on that part of the order.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld the lower court’s decision and ordered the Trump administration to return control of the troops to Newsom.
“It’s about time @realDonaldTrump admitted defeat,” Newsom said in an X post.
“We have said this since day one: the federal government’s takeover of the California National Guard is illegal,” he added.
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker of the Democratic Party echoed similar sentiments in response to Trump’s announcement.
“He lost in court when Illinois opposed his attempt to militarize American cities with the National Guard,” Pritzker said on social media.
“Now Trump is forced to back down,” he added.
