Washington — President Trump on Wednesday said the National Guard is leaving Chicago, Los Angeles and Portland, but warned that “we will come back” if crime “begins to soar again.”
The president made the announcement on Truth Social.
“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 wrote. “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!”
The Trump administration has been fighting legal battles to keep the National Guard in those cities that oppose its presence.
The U.S. Supreme Court last week left in place a federal ruling in Chicago that bars the administration from deploying National Guard troops in Illinois while a legal challenge moves forward.
In early December, a federal judge in California blocked the Trump administration from deploying members of the California National Guard in Los Angeles and directed the administration to return control of the Guard to Gov. Gavin Newsom.
In October, a federal appeals court cleared the way for the administration to deploy the Oregon National Guard to Portland while a legal challenge progresses.
This is a developing story and will be updated.