The Department of War has just yanked the Texas and California National Guard troops out of Chicago and Portland, signaling a retreat from two hotbeds of urban unrest.
Breitbart reported that the Department of War has ordered the return of 200 Texas National Guard soldiers from Chicago and 200 California National Guard members from Portland, ending their controversial deployments in response to legal pushback and activist judicial rulings.
Let’s rewind to October, when Texas Governor Greg Abbott gave the green light for 200 of his state’s National Guard troops to head to Chicago under the president’s Title 10 authority.
These soldiers were sent to tackle violent protests targeting Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and facilities in the Windy City—a mission rooted in the chaos of progressive-driven unrest.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump ordered a matching contingent of 200 California National Guard troops to Portland, Oregon, another city often synonymous with street clashes and anti-federal sentiment.
Both deployments were meant to bolster federal law enforcement, but Department of War officials admitted the soldiers were kept “forward-facing” yet behind the scenes—hardly the robust defense many hoped for.
Enter the judiciary, stage left, with U.S. District Court Judge April Perry challenging the Title 10 authority behind the Texas Guard’s Chicago mission, casting doubt on the legal footing of such federal overreach.
The U.S. Supreme Court even stepped in, requesting additional briefing on the case, which only turned up the heat on an already contentious deployment.
Legal rulings ultimately tied the hands of these soldiers, preventing them from actively protecting federal agents or property—a frustrating outcome for those who see law and order as priority one.
Now, with these court challenges piling up, the Department of War has decided to pull the plug, ordering both Guard units back to their home states in what feels like a capitulation to activist judges.
Department of War officials reportedly said the return-to-home orders are part of “right-sizing our Title 10 footprint,” as reported by ABC News, but let’s be real—does anyone buy that as anything more than a polite dodge?
“Right-sizing” sounds like bureaucratic jargon for admitting defeat, especially when the soldiers weren’t even allowed to do the job they were sent for in the first place.
Breitbart Texas reached out to the Texas Military Department for clarity on where the returning Lone Star soldiers will be reassigned, but as of Sunday morning, no answers were forthcoming.
These Texas troops, by the way, have been patrolling the southern border during the ongoing crisis under the current administration, so one can only hope they’ll return to a mission where their hands aren’t tied by courtroom meddling.
For now, the recall of these National Guard units from Chicago and Portland leaves a bitter taste—law enforcement support undermined, federal authority questioned, and two cities left to grapple with their unrest while the courts play armchair general.