Courts Clash with Trump Over National Guard Deployments as Militarization of U.S. Cities Intensifies

Judges push back on the expanding use of federal troops in domestic unrest, warning of blurred lines between civil authority and military power.

WASHINGTON | The militarization of American cities isn’t happening through tanks rolling down Main Street — it’s unfolding through a steady series of National Guard deployments ordered by President Donald Trump. What began as a limited operation to quell immigration protests in Los Angeles has now evolved into a constitutional confrontation between the White House and the federal courts, testing the boundaries of presidential power under the Posse Comitatus Act.

A June 7 memorandum initiated the current wave of troop movements, ostensibly targeting “civil disturbances.” Despite opposition from California Governor Gavin Newsom and several mayors, Guard units have since appeared — or are being considered — in major metropolitan areas including Chicago, Portland, and Oakland.

State leaders have responded with lawsuits arguing that the president’s actions exceed constitutional limits. “The American people should not live under the threat of occupation by their own military,” attorneys for Illinois wrote in their suit challenging Trump’s plan to deploy troops to Chicago.