National Guard troops were quietly withdrawn from some U.S. cities
Source: Washington Post
February 11, 2026 at 1:39 p.m. EST
The Trump administration has withdrawn all federalized National Guard troops from U.S. cities, after its repeated attempts to surge forces into Democratic-run states encountered judicial roadblocks.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 other than a social media post weeks earlier in which President Donald Trump forecast the troops’ removal. It was a remarkable turnabout after Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had insisted the mobilizations were necessary to combat what they claimed was unchecked violence and to support enforcement of the nation’s immigration laws.
The White House on Wednesday referred questions to Trump’s Truth Social post from December warning it was “Only a question of time!” before crime would begin “to soar again,” necessitating a return “perhaps in a much different and stronger form.” The Pentagon did not address questions about the withdrawal.
The deployments — including more than 5,000 troops to Los Angeles, about 500 into Chicago and 200 to Portland, Oregon — were ordered despite the vehement opposition from state and local leaders who labeled the administration’s actions an unlawful abuse of presidential authority. All of those service members were sent home by the end of January, according to U.S. Northern Command. The vast majority of the troops sent to L.A. were demobilized in late July, leaving 100 in the area before the pullout.
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/02/11/national-guard-los-angeles-chicago-portland/
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