The US Supreme Court refused on Tuesday to let Donald Trump send National Guard troops to the Chicago area as the Republican president expands the use of the military for domestic purposes in a growing number of Democratic-led jurisdictions, a policy critics call an effort to punish adversaries and stifle dissent.
The justices let stand for now a judge’s order blocking the deployment of hundreds of National Guard troops in a legal challenge brought by Illinois officials and local leaders. The US Justice Department had sought to allow the deployment while the case proceeds.
“At this preliminary stage, the Government has failed to identify a source of authority that would allow the military to execute the laws in Illinois,” the court’s majority held in an unsigned order.
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The order said the president’s authority to take federal control of National Guard troops is likely to apply only in “exceptional” circumstances.
Three conservatives on the court said they dissented from the order: Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch.
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said in a statement that Trump “promised the American people he would work tirelessly to enforce our immigration laws and protect federal personnel from violent rioters” and that “[n]othing in today’s ruling detracts from that core agenda”.