BREAKING: Trump to pull National Guard from Portland, LA, and Chicago—warns they ‘will come back’ in ‘stronger form’

In a post on Truth Social, Trump stated: "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." He added that the cities "were GONE if it weren't for the Federal Government stepping in" and declared that federal forces could return "perhaps in a much different and stronger form, when crime begins to soar again— Only a question of time!"

The announcement comes after months of controversy over the administration's efforts to federalize state National Guard units for operations in Democratic-run cities, primarily to protect federal buildings amid ongoing violent protests stemming from heightened US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations. Deployments began in early June to quash anti-ICE riots in Los Angeles, which included the federalization of thousands of California National Guardsmen. Similar attempts were made in Chicago and Portland—where the ICE facility was under siege by leftist extremists for five consecutive months—but federal courts largely blocked full activations, citing violations of presidential authority, the 10th Amendment, and limits on domestic military use.

Last week, the Supreme Court barred Guard deployments to Chicago to protect federal agents during immigration operations, dealing a rare blow to presidential executive privilege. Lower courts have previously halted or limited actions in California and Oregon. Reports indicate that troops had limited or no presence in these three cities at all, or in recent weeks, due to these rulings.

In Los Angeles, most troops were withdrawn by mid-December following court orders returning control to state authorities. The withdrawal does not affect the ongoing National Guard presence in other cities, including Washington, DC, Memphis, and New Orleans, where deployments continue for similar but different purposes, such as tackling crime.