Trump’s Path to Troops in NYC, Explained

Sept. 3, 2025, 10:57 AM UTC

President Donald Trump hit a setback in his push to use the military in US cities when a California federal judge on Tuesday found his use of troops in Los Angeles was unlawful.

But a path to dispatching the National Guard in New York isn’t foreclosed.

What was Trump’s argument for sending troops to California?

To unilaterally dispatch the California National Guard to Los Angeles — against the wishes of Gov. Gavin Newsom, effectively federalizing a shared military reserve unit — Trump cited a federal law that permits the president to deploy the Guard in certain instances.

“It’s an obscure ...

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