Trump says he's removing National Guard from LA, Chicago, Portland

LOS ANGELES - President Donald Trump said he’s removing National Guard troops from Los Angeles, Chicago, and Portland. 

He made the announcement in a Truth Social post saying his decision is due to crime being reduced in those cities, but suggested that troops could return if crime "begins to soar again."

"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. Portland, Los Angeles, and Chicago were GONE if it weren’t for the Federal Government stepping in. We will come back, perhaps in a much different and stronger form, when crime begins to soar again - Only a question of time! It is hard to believe that these Democrat Mayors and Governors, all of whom are greatly incompetent, would want us to leave, especially considering the great progress that has been made?"

California National Guard troops had already been removed from the streets of Los Angeles by Dec. 15 after a court ruling. But an appeals court had paused a separate part of the order that required control of the Guard to return to Gov. Gavin Newsom.

In a Tuesday court filing, the Trump administration said it was no longer seeking a pause in that part of the order. That paves the way for the California National Guard troops to fully return to state control after Trump federalized the Guard in June.

Why were troops deployed to LA?

Dig deeper:

Trump ordered 2,000 California National Guard troops to Los Angeles on June 7, due to widespread immigration protests and raids. He argued that local law enforcement authorities were not able to adequately protect the safety of immigration officials and federal vehicles and buildings in the area.

The deployment was later reduced to about 300 troops. California sued the administration to end the deployment, claiming the move violated the Constitution.

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Following the summer deployment, Trump repeatedly defended the move, contending that it quelled massive riots that threatened to destroy much of the city -- even though the immigration protests were largely restricted to a several-block area near the federal building in downtown Los Angeles. He also boasted — without proof or evidence — that absent his actions, the city would have lost the 2028 Olympic Games and next year's World Cup.

The other side:

Los Angeles and California officials who opposed the deployment noted that the National Guard troops played no role in actually breaking up protests or civil disturbances, with their deployment primarily restricted to standing guard outside the downtown federal building to prevent unauthorized access. Work to quell protests was done primarily by the Los Angeles Police Department and California Highway Patrol.

Administration met with legal challenges in Portland, Chicago 

Trump’s push to deploy troops in Democrat-led cities has been met with legal challenges at nearly every turn.

The Supreme Court in December refused to allow the Trump administration to deploy National Guard troops in the Chicago area as part of its crackdown on immigration. The order was not a final ruling but was a significant and rare setback by the high court for the president’s efforts.

In the nation’s capital, District of Columbia Attorney General Brian Schwalb sued to halt the deployment of more than 2,000 guardsmen.

In Oregon, a federal judge permanently blocked the deployment of National Guard troops there.