Trump Admin Quietly Withdraws National Guard Troops From Some U.S. Cities

Deployments faced repeated legal setbacks, stymying Trump's show of force in Democratic-run states.

Published on Feb. 11, 2026

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The Trump administration has withdrawn all federalized National Guard troops from U.S. cities, after its repeated attempts to surge forces into Democratic-run states encountered judicial roadblocks. The pullout was completed last month with no public acknowledgment from the White House or the Pentagon, marking a remarkable turnabout after Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had insisted the mobilizations were necessary to combat unchecked violence and support immigration enforcement.

Why it matters

The deployments, which included over 5,000 troops to Los Angeles, about 500 to Chicago, and 200 to Portland, Oregon, were ordered despite vehement opposition from state and local leaders who labeled the administration's actions an unlawful abuse of presidential authority. The withdrawal raises questions about the administration's broader plans to use federal troops domestically to respond to civil unrest.

The details

The troops in Chicago, L.A. and Portland were deployed under federal orders known as Title 10, which allows the president to exert federal authority over a state's National Guard. However, they were restricted from performing law enforcement activities such as making arrests and conducting searches, rendering them "100 percent ineffective" in controlling the protests that grew from Trump's immigration enforcement directives. The administration finally realized the "legal and public condemnation" was more than anticipated, leading to the pullback.

  • The vast majority of the troops sent to L.A. were demobilized in late July, leaving 100 in the area before the pullout.
  • The troops in Chicago, L.A. and Portland were withdrawn by the end of January.

The players

Donald Trump

The former president who ordered the National Guard deployments to U.S. cities.

Pete Hegseth

The former Defense Secretary who insisted the mobilizations were necessary to combat unchecked violence and support immigration enforcement.

Randy Manner

A retired Army two-star general and former acting vice chief of the National Guard, who said the administration "finally realized the amount of resistance that was coming up, in terms of legal and public condemnation, was more than anyone anticipated."

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What they’re saying

“The administration finally realized the amount of resistance that was coming up, in terms of legal and public condemnation, was more than anyone anticipated.”

— Randy Manner, Retired Army two-star general and former acting vice chief of the National Guard

What’s next

More than 2,500 National Guard members remain in D.C. in response to Trump's ordered deployment, but under a nonfederal status. Their mission - part crackdown on crime and part sanitation duty - is expected to last until the end of the year.

The takeaway

The withdrawal of National Guard troops from U.S. cities highlights the legal and public backlash the Trump administration faced over its attempts to use federal forces to exert control over protests and civil unrest in Democratic-led states, underscoring the limits on a president's ability to deploy troops domestically.