Texas National Guard troops arrived at an Army facility outside Chicago on Tuesday, escalating a battle over the limits of presidential power. The deployment comes as President Donald Trump reiterated his threat to invoke the centuries-old Insurrection Act to deploy military forces to Democratic-led cities like Chicago and Portland, even over the objections of local and state officials.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!While a federal judge in Chicago allowed the Texas troops’ deployment to proceed for now, a judge in Oregon temporarily blocked a similar action in Portland. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and Chicago officials have filed a lawsuit to stop the move, with Pritzker accusing the President of using service members as “political props.”
The Insurrection Act, last invoked in 1992, would be a major escalation, giving the military police and arrest powers generally prohibited under federal law. Experts warn that using the act in this manner, without a state’s invitation, is “extremely dangerous” and unprecedented.
Title: Constitutional Clash: Trump’s Use of Guard Troops in Chicago Tests Limits of Presidential Power
President Donald Trump is engaged in a high-stakes legal and constitutional showdown with Democratic-led states over his unprecedented deployment of National Guard troops, a move that critics are calling an “authoritarian march.”
The arrival of Texas National Guard soldiers near Chicago this week intensified the crisis, despite fierce opposition from Illinois Governor JB Pritzker. The deployment comes as Trump explicitly threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act, a rarely-used 1807 law that would grant him authority to deploy the military for domestic law enforcement and bypass judicial or gubernatorial resistance. This law was last used in 1992.
While a Chicago federal judge temporarily permitted the deployment to proceed, the cities and states are challenging the action in court, arguing that Trump is creating a false narrative of “lawlessness” to justify militarization. Legal experts, like retired Army Major General Randy Manner, warn that using the Insurrection Act as Trump is contemplating “has no real precedent” and is “absolutely the definition of dictatorship and fascism.”
Title: Texas Guard Lands Near Chicago as Trump Threatens Military Rule
The political war between President Donald Trump and Democratic-led cities ratcheted up Tuesday with the arrival of Texas National Guard troops at a base outside Chicago. The deployment defied Illinois’ Governor, who is now suing the administration.
Trump defended the move and renewed his threat to invoke the Insurrection Act—a move that would grant the military full domestic policing and arrest powers, even over the objections of state authorities. The President claims the troops are needed to fight “crime” and assist a crackdown on illegal immigration.
The situation remains legally volatile: while a Chicago judge allowed the deployment for now, a similar plan for Portland, Oregon, has been temporarily blocked by a separate judge. The unprecedented use of federalized National Guard troops for this purpose continues to draw alarm from civil liberties groups and former military officials.
