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The U.S. Supreme Court rejected a bid by President Donald Trump's administration to deploy National Guard troops in Illinois despite opposition from local government officials on Tuesday (December 23), NBC News reports.
The court rejected the emergency request made by the Trump administration, which argued that troops were necessary to help protect federal agents conducting immigration enforcement in the Chicago area, as part of an unsigned order. The decision is preliminary and only involves Chicago, however, is a likely sign that similar action will be taken in other cities in which Trump faces backlash for National Guard deployments and marked a rare loss for the president in terms of Supreme Court rulings with the 6-3 conservative majority voting against him.
Trump's administration argued that the situation on the ground in Chicago was so chaotic that it adhered to the president being permitted to call National Guard troops into federal service in circumstances when “there is a rebellion or danger of a rebellion” or “the president is unable with the regular forces to execute the laws of the United States.” The high court, however, ruled otherwise, deciding that the law's reference to the "regular forces" only allows for the National Guard to be deployed if the regular military is unable to restore order in a given circumstance.