Trump pulls back National Guard from L.A. and other cities, Newsom claims win
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SACRAMENTO — President Trump said Wednesday that he is removing the National Guard from the Democrat-led cities of Los Angeles, Portland, Ore., and Chicago, following a Supreme Court ruling that cast doubt on the administration’s legal theory for using the troops in domestic law enforcement operations.The president, however, said the decision was based solely on what he described as “greatly reduced” crime in those cities and left open the possibility of future federal intervention.Gov.
Gavin Newsom’s office countered Trump’s reasoning for removing troops in Los Angeles, saying the decision was due to California’s recent victories in court, including a ruling Wednesday returning control of the Guard to the state.“I’m glad President Trump has finally admitted defeat: we’ve said all along the federalization of the National Guard in California is illegal,” Newsom said in a statement.“I direct California National Guard leadership to work expeditiously to return state service members home to be with their families as soon as possible following their demobilization from federal service.”The back-and-forth followed a brief filed with the U.S.
Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit on Tuesday in which Justice Department lawyers said they formally withdrew a request to keep the troops under federal control while the appeal proceeds.A subsequent order Wednesday from the appeals court returned control of the California National Guard to Newsom.Last week, the U.S.
Supreme Court handed Trump a temporary defeat, blocking him from deploying the National Guard in Chicago.In their ruling, the justices said the power to deploy troops domestically is only given to the president in “exceptional” circumstances.
The decision was seen as a turning point in a contentious legal fight over Trump’s use of state National Guard troops, which the president said was necessary...