The Supreme Court today issued a preliminary ruling blocking the Trump administration from deploying National Guard troops in Chicago.
The court voted 6-3 that the Trump administration did not have the authority it has claimed under Title 10 of the U.S. Code to use the National Guard to enforce federal laws if “regular forces” can’t execute them.
“The President has not invoked a statute that provides an exception to the Posse Comitatus Act,” the justices wrote. Posse Comitatus is a federal law that bars the military from performing domestic law enforcement unless expressly authorized by the Constitution or an act of Congress.
“Today is a big win for Illinois and American democracy,” Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said in posts on X. “The brave men and women of our National Guard should never be used for political theater and deserve to be with their families and communities, especially during the holidays, and ready to serve overseas or at home when called upon during times of immense need.”
The ruling was the result of the Trump administration’s emergency appeal after the Seventh Circuit Court refused to let the Trump administration override a court order blocking troop deployments to the state in October.
In September, Trump issued a memo to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Attorney General Pam Bondi calling “at least 300” Illinois National Guard members into service to protect federal agents “who are executing Federal law in Illinois, and Federal property in the State of Illinois.”
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott sent National Guard members from his state to Illinois.
In his concurrence, Justice Brett Kavanaugh noted that the opinion does not address Trump’s authority to deploy the regular military under the Insurrection Act or under the president’s Article 2 authority to use it to protect federal personnel and property. Thus, he writes, “one apparent ramification of the Court’s opinion is that it could cause the President to use the U. S. military more than the National Guard to protect federal personnel and property in the United States.”
