Trump's Trials - Supreme Court rules against Trump in National Guard case

Episode Date: December 24, 2025

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against President Trump on Tuesday, refusing to reinstate, for now, Trump's ability to send National Guard troops into Illinois over the objections of its governor.Support NPR and hear every episode of Trump's Terms sponsor-free with NPR+. Sign up at plus.npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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Podcasts, Trumponomics, a weekly show focused on the Trump administration's economic policies and plans. Examine how Trump's policies are shaping the global economy and what is going to happen next, available wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Juana Summers. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against President Trump's deployment of the National Guard in Chicago. It's the latest in a series of legal setbacks to the administration's use of troops on domestic soil. And the first time the High Court was weighed in on such deployments. To tell us more about this decision and what it could mean beyond Chicago, we're joined now by NPR's Kat Lonsdorf High. Hey, Katz, start by telling us, how did this case end up at the Supreme Court? Yeah, so this case stems from back in September when President

Trump federalized the National Guard against Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker's wishes and sent them into Chicago for what Trump said was protection of federal immigration officers and facilities. Just a reminder, this all happened as the administration launched a new and and increasingly aggressive immigration operation in the city. Two lower courts ruled against Trump's deployment of the guard there, blocking troops from the streets. And in October, the administration issued an emergency appeal up to the Supreme Court. And today we heard from the court. Tell us about the decision. Yeah, so the court ruled six to three against Trump, which is rare.

It's one of only a handful of times the conservative court has ruled against the president in the emergency docket this term. It was an unsigned opinion, and it was really technical. But basically, the court wrote that the president failed to explain why the situation in Chicago warranted an exception to what's called the Posse Cometatis Act. That's the law that limits the military's ability to execute laws or perform policing on U.S. soil. Justice Brent Kavanaugh wrote his own concurring opinion. Conservative justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, and Neil Gorsuch dissented, writing that they, quote, strongly disagreed with the way the court handled the case. they said the court should have remained focused on the narrow question in the administration's appeal, which was specifically around protecting federal officers and facilities.

What's the reaction been like so far? Have you heard anything from the White House today? NPR reached out to the White House for comment, but we have not gotten a response yet. But this was another in a series of legal setbacks for the administration around these National Guard deployments. Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raul commended the High Court's decision and the fact that troops will stay off the streets for now. I will note, though, minutes after the ruling, Louisiana governor Jeff Landry, a Republican, was on Fox News announcing that he will be sending hundreds of National Guard troops into New Orleans. He didn't offer a time frame. This deployment has been in the works for some time. It does follow a pattern of Republican governors embracing these deployments like we've seen in Tennessee. And, Kat, like you said, this decision was made as a part of the Supreme Court's emergency docket.

What does that mean for how it applies to Trump's other deployments? of the National Guard around the country? Yeah, because this is an emergency decision, it is not president setting, meaning it only applies to this specific case in Illinois and not to other deployments around the country. But all of those deployments have been challenged in courts and are caught up in litigation right now.

And lower courts do tend to at least look at these emergency decisions from the Supreme Court for some guidance on the laws, which can be especially helpful here as the laws that are being tested are really arcane and don't have much or any case law around. them. And just to be clear, this might not be the final ruling from the Supreme Court on this issue. Presumably, the case could return to the court, or one of the other cases from other deployments could make their way up to the court as well. But for all practical purposes, the president, for now at

least, cannot send National Guard troops into Illinois without the governor's permission. NPR's Kat Lonsor, thank you. Thank you. Before we wrap up, a reminder, you can find more cover. of the Trump administration on the NPR Politics podcast, where you can hear NPR's political reporters break down the day's biggest political news with new episodes every weekday afternoon. And thanks, as always, to our NPR Plus supporters who hear every episode of the show without sponsor messages. You can learn more at plus.npr.org. I'm Scott Detrow. Thanks for listening to Trump's terms from NPR.

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