Illinois and Chicago have slammed the brakes on President Trump’s plan to deploy federalized National Guard troops, filing a lawsuit to halt the arrival of hundreds of soldiers from Texas. The move marks the latest flare-up in a growing standoff between the White House and Democratic-led states over the use of military forces on U.S. soil.
Trump has doubled down, threatening to invoke the rarely used Insurrection Act to sidestep court challenges and local opposition, framing the cities as besieged by “lawlessness.” Meanwhile, Texas National Guard units were reported in transit to Chicago even as Illinois sought a temporary restraining order.
The clash follows a string of court interventions: federal judges in Oregon and California have temporarily blocked similar deployments, signaling that Trump may be stretching his authority. In Chicago, the lawsuit argues the president’s justification—protecting an ICE facility from protesters—is flimsy at best.
Governor J.B. Pritzker condemned the effort, saying federal forces, alongside heavily armed ICE and other officers, have already escalated tensions, deploying tear gas and rubber bullets against peaceful demonstrators, including children. “Donald Trump is turning our service members into political props and pawns in an illegal attempt to militarize cities,” Pritzker said.
Trump, undeterred, painted a grim picture of Chicago, calling it “worse than almost any city in the world” and claiming local leaders have lost control. His administration has also dispatched troops to Los Angeles, Washington D.C., and Portland, prompting multiple legal challenges over what critics call an unprecedented use of the military in domestic law enforcement.
The standoff underscores a growing constitutional and political battle over the limits of presidential power, the role of the National Guard, and the federal government’s reach into cities controlled by opposing parties. Courts have yet to deliver final rulings, but early decisions suggest Trump may have overstepped in his aggressive push to assert federal control.
