Troops sent to US cities; most pulled, DC stays

Summary

Citing a crime emergency even though violent crime in DC was at a 30-year low, Trump federalized DC's Metropolitan Police Department under the Home Rule Act and deployed the National Guard to the capital, then sought Guard deployments to Chicago and Portland over governors' objections. Courts ruled against the Chicago and Los Angeles deployments (a federal appeals court let the DC deployment continue), the Supreme Court declined to authorize the Chicago deployment on December 23, 2025, and on December 31 Trump said he was withdrawing the Guard from Chicago, Los Angeles and Portland. The DC deployment continued and was later extended to January 20, 2029.

What happened

On August 11, 2025, Trump declared a crime emergency in Washington, DC, federalized the Metropolitan Police Department under the Home Rule Act, and deployed the National Guard to the capital despite violent crime being at a 30-year low. He then attempted to deploy the Guard to Chicago and Portland over the objections of those states' governors. Federal courts ruled against the Chicago and Los Angeles deployments, while a federal appeals court allowed the DC deployment to continue. On December 23, 2025, the Supreme Court declined to authorize the Chicago deployment, and Trump announced on December 31 that he was withdrawing the troops from Chicago, Los Angeles, and Portland.

Impact on the United States

Domestic military deployments against the will of states, which courts ruled against in Chicago and Los Angeles, and a federal takeover of a local police force - which the ACLU of DC said was done 'under false pretenses' - raised concerns among constitutional experts and former military officers about the civilian-military boundary and local self-governance.

Documented effects

1. Dec 2025The Supreme Court declined to authorize the Chicago National Guard deployment on December 23, 2025, a major loss for the administration.[1]
2. Dec 2025Trump withdrew the National Guard from Chicago, Los Angeles, and Portland on December 31, 2025.[3]

Why this is rated severe

Guard deployments to several cities over governors' objections, which courts ruled against in Chicago and Los Angeles, plus a federal takeover of DC's police, strained the civilian-military boundary; troops were withdrawn from Chicago, Los Angeles and Portland, while the DC deployment continued.

withdrawn from Chicago, Los Angeles and Portland Dec 31, 2025; DC deployment continues, extended to January 20, 2029

Corrections & updates [6]

Every change to a fact on this page after publication is logged here, newest first.

1. Sep 29, 2026CorrectedStatus

   The entry said the troops were withdrawn on December 31, 2025. On that date Trump said he was withdrawing the National Guard from Chicago, Los Angeles and Portland; the Washington, DC deployment was not withdrawn. It continued into 2026 and in July 2026 was extended to January 20, 2029 (see the separate entry on that extension). Status changed from reversed to partial.[3][4][5]

2. Sep 29, 2026ClarifiedSummary

   The '30-year low' refers to violent crime in Washington, D.C., as NPR reported (via KPBS); the entry now says so. It also said courts repeatedly found the deployments unlawful; courts ruled against the Chicago and Los Angeles deployments, but a federal appeals court let the D.C. deployment continue, so the wording is narrowed. The claim that the D.C. police takeover was made 'on false pretenses' is now attributed to the ACLU of D.C.[4][3][2]

3. Sep 29, 2026CorrectedSource

   Military.com, a military-beat publication, was labeled as major news (Tier 2). It is relabeled as specialist press (Tier 3). The entry keeps its CNN and KPBS sources.[1]

4. Sep 29, 2026ClarifiedSeverity rationale

   Replaced 'unlawful' and 'seizure' with the court rulings the entry documents. Severity unchanged.

   + Show previous and current text- Hide previous and current text

   Previously

   A multi-city pattern of unlawful domestic military deployment and seizure of local police eroded the civilian-military boundary, though courts blocked the Chicago deployment and troops were withdrawn from Chicago, Los Angeles and Portland; the DC deployment continued.

   Now

   Guard deployments to several cities over governors' objections, which courts ruled against in Chicago and Los Angeles, plus a federal takeover of DC's police, strained the civilian-military boundary; troops were withdrawn from Chicago, Los Angeles and Portland, while the DC deployment continued.

5. Sep 29, 2026CorrectedDisplay copy

   The display text said the Portland deployment was blocked and that the capital deployment was over a governor's objection. The record documents court rulings against the Chicago and Los Angeles deployments, and DC has no governor; the text now matches.[1][3]

6. Sep 29, 2026CorrectedCost estimate

   Now uses the Congressional Budget Office's January 2026 estimates of what each 2025 deployment cost through December: $223M for Washington, DC, $26M for Portland and $21M for Chicago, $270M in total. The earlier $150M was an estimate by analogy to the Los Angeles deployment and was below CBO's figure for Washington alone. The block also wrongly said the deployments were wound down; the DC deployment continued into 2026.

   Previously

   net $150M so far; 10yr $160M; 15yr $160M

   Now

   net $270M so far; 10yr $270M; 15yr $270M

Sources [5]