US Supreme Court blocks Trump plan to deploy National Guard near Chicago, for now
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WASHINGTON: The US Supreme Court on Tuesday (Dec 23) refused to allow President Donald Trump to deploy National Guard troops to the Chicago area, dealing a rare setback to his administration as it expands the use of military forces in Democratic-led cities.
The justices let stand a lower court order blocking the deployment of hundreds of National Guard troops while legal challenges brought by Illinois and Chicago continue. The US Justice Department had asked the court to lift the injunction as the case proceeds.
“At this preliminary stage, the government has failed to identify a source of authority that would allow the military to execute the laws in Illinois,” the court said in an unsigned order.
Three conservative justices, Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch, dissented. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
RARE SETBACK FOR TRUMP
The ruling marks an unusual defeat for Trump at a Supreme Court with a 6–3 conservative majority that has frequently sided with his administration on assertions of presidential power since he returned to office in January.
The National Guard normally operates under the authority of state governors, except when federalised by the president. Trump had ordered deployments to Chicago and Portland, following earlier troop deployments to Los Angeles, Memphis and Washington, DC.
The administration has argued that the troops are needed to protect federal property and personnel amid protests against Trump’s aggressive immigration enforcement.
DISPUTE OVER PROTESTS
Trump and his allies have portrayed Democratic-led cities as lawless and plagued by violent unrest. Illinois officials and local leaders have strongly disputed that characterisation, saying protests have been limited, largely peaceful and manageable by local law enforcement.
Federal judges have expressed scepticism over the administration’s claims. Chicago-based US District Judge April Perry blocked the deployment on Oct 9, finding no evidence of rebellion or that the law was not being enforced.
She said officials had wrongly “equated protests with riots” and warned that sending troops would “only add fuel to the fire”.
A three-judge panel of the Chicago-based 7th US Circuit Court of Appeals later declined to lift Perry’s order, concluding that “the facts do not justify the president’s actions in Illinois”. Two of the three judges were appointed by Republican presidents, including one by Trump.
LEGAL LIMITS ON MILITARY USE
Trump has relied on a law allowing a president to deploy state National Guard forces to suppress a rebellion, repel an invasion or when he is “unable with the regular forces to execute the laws of the United States”.
In earlier rulings, Perry said historical sources suggest “regular forces” refers to the Army and Navy, not the National Guard, and noted the administration made no attempt to rely on those forces before federalising state troops.
Officials said hundreds of National Guard troops previously sent from California to Portland and from Texas to Chicago were being sent home.
Separate legal challenges are continuing in Oregon, where a federal judge permanently blocked a planned deployment to Portland. The administration has appealed that ruling.
The Supreme Court has repeatedly been asked to intervene to allow Trump policies blocked by lower courts, and has sided with the administration in most cases so far.
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