Rethinking National Guard Deployments: Could Troops on American Streets Become the New Normal?
Generally, when folks think of the US military being deployed, they imagine some faraway foreign land. It’s easier, perhaps, to picture the National Guard right here at home—but typically only for emergency relief during and after massive natural disasters, like hurricanes. However, the Trump administration could change that perception for the future.
Multiple deployments to Democrat-led cities, a new “reaction force” for the National Guard, invitations from Republican governors, and lawsuits that—should they go the president’s way—could solidify his authority and reduce the need for blue-state cooperation. All these factors coalesce into a catalyst for change that might make uniformed troops in the streets the new normal.
Where Trump Has Been
President Donald Trump made headlines—and stirred controversy among Democrats and never-Trumpers—when he deployed 2,500 members of the National Guard to the nation’s capital to “clean up” crime-ridden streets on August 11. By August 22, crime was down, and the streets were literally cleaner. He soon announced plans to do the same in Chicago.
But his use of the National Guard didn’t begin in DC. Much to the chagrin of Governor Gavin Newsom, Trump deployed more than 4,000 troops to Los Angeles to protect federal buildings and personnel during protests. He ordered up to 400 soldiers sent to Portland to protect federal property and personnel—and despite a court order blocking the deployment, they were briefly dispatched to the city.
Another 500 troops were ordered to Chicago, though that deployment was stalled in court. Since October 10, as many as 150 service members have been patrolling Memphis, TN, alongside local law enforcement—an action endorsed by Tennessee Governor Bill Lee.
Federal Court Action
The three Democrat-led states to which the president ordered the National Guard—California, Oregon, and Illinois—are all suing the administration in federal court, with mixed results so far.
Deployments to Chicago and Portland have been halted, pending court decisions in each case. In California, however, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Trump could keep troops in the Golden State while litigation continues.
It all began in Los Angeles. Earlier this year, the Trump administration sent immigration agents into the city on a large scale, which led to massive—and sometimes destructive and dangerous—protests. This, in turn, led to Trump federalizing the California National Guard to protect the immigration agents.
Governor Newsom sued, and the case made its way to the Ninth Circuit, which recently ruled that “we must give a great level of deference to the President’s determination that a predicate condition exists” to justify the deployment.
If one of these cases results in a final ruling affirming that President Trump does, in fact, have the authority to call up the National Guard as he has been doing—whether or not the governor cooperates—then the rest of the cases could easily fall in line.
Chicago, Portland, and even other crime-riddled Democrat-led cities in blue states that the president has mentioned—like Baltimore or San Francisco—could soon see soldiers patrolling their streets.
National Guard, Building for the Future
The administration appears to be betting on that outcome. A recently leaked memo dated October 8 and signed by the National Guard Bureau Director of Operations, Maj. Gen. Ronald Burkett, orders every state, plus Puerto Rico and Guam, to train a select number of service members to form a new “Quick Reaction Force” (QRF).
Most states will need to train 500 soldiers, while those with smaller populations will deploy fewer. Altogether, the goal is to have approximately 23,500 troops trained in crowd control and managing civil disturbances, ready to deploy to any U.S. city by early next year.
The Guardian also reported that a previous Pentagon memo from September ordered the DC National Guard to create a “specialized military police battalion … dedicated to ensuring safety and public order in the Nation’s capital as circumstances may necessitate.”
The latest letter requires the QRF to be trained and ready to deploy by January 1, 2026.
What reason could the Trump administration have to train a force of this size, ready to be quickly sent to American cities, other than to dramatically scale up current deployments?
Regardless of how the lawsuits conclude, this move suggests that the novel use of the National Guard as a law enforcement tool may, at least tangentially, become the new normal.
https://www.libertynation.com/trump-deployments-and-the-future-of-federal-force-in-american-cities/
