By Andrew Stanton

Copyright newsweek

President Donald Trump’s use of the National Guard to address crime in Democratic-run cities has drawn scrutiny from some Republican senators.

Newsweek reached out to the White House for comment via email.

Why It Matters

Trump has ordered, or threatened to send, federal troops troops into several cities such as Los Angeles, Chicago and Portland, Oregon. The administration has justified these deployments by saying they are necessary to deal with local crime and protect federal property.

City and state leaders, however, argued that deployment is unnecessary, motivated by politics and unhelpful to the local crime situations, prompting lawsuits aiming to block him from using federal troops domestically.

His use of the federal troops represents a key dispute about executive authority and limits on presidential powers.

What To Know

A handful of Republican Senators have expressed concerns about the National Guard deployments, reported The Hill. Senator Thom Tillis, the North Carolina Republican who is retiring at the end of his term, told the publication he believes it sets a “bad precedent.”

“I worry about someday a Democrat president sending troops or National Guard from New York, California, Oregon, Washington state to North Carolina,” he said.

Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska told The Hill she agrees with concerns “about the use of our military for policing and more the politicization that we’re seeing within the military.”

Senator Susan Collins of Maine, who is up for reelection in a Democratic-leaning state, told the news outlet that while she believes Chicago has a “crime problem,” National Guard deployment works better when working with governors.

President Donald Trump speaks in the White House on October 6, 2025 in Washington, D.C.

“I do think the National Guard has an important role to play in natural disasters, in protecting federal personnel and federal sites. In those cases, you can justify nationalizing the guard. Generally, this should be a police and law-enforcement action. It’s a complicated issue,” Collins told The Hill.

Other Republicans have been more supportive.

Governor Greg Abbott of Texas, whose National Guard troops arrived in Chicago on Tuesday, wrote to X: “The elite Texas National Guard are on the ground and ready to go. They are putting America first by ensuring that the federal government can safely enforce federal law.”

Trump has suggested he could use the Insurrection Act to send federal troops into cities, but critics say day-to-day crime does not justify the use of the statute. The federalization of National Guard troops without consent from a governor is rare throughout U.S. history, mostly taking place during the Civil Rights Era, when presidents used these troops to enforce integration of schools and protecting civil rights activists.

Several states have sued over the attempted use of National Guard troops to address crime. A judge has stopped the use of the National Guard in Portland, Oregon, where protesters have demonstrated outside of a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility.

What People Are Saying

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, a Democrat, on X: “Illinois will not let the Trump Administration continue on their authoritarian march without resisting. We will use every lever at our disposal to stop this power grab because military troops should not be used against American communities.”

Senator Tammy Duckworth, an Illinois Democrat, on X: “We have the Insurrection Act for a reason—but it’s not so a President with 34 felonies can ignore court orders and punish cities he doesn’t like with military intimidation. Especially not when the courts are telling him his claims of insurrection are “untethered to the facts.”

Chuck Todd, a journalist and commentator, wrote to X: “I don’t think folks realize how surreal this is. The fact that the Texas governor refuses to respect another state’s right should alarm Texans. Imagine the outcry from Abbott himself if it was Texas on the receiving end of unwanted National Guard from Illinois?”

What Happens Next

Trump’s use of the National Guard continues to face legal challenges in major cities. Whether or not Trump will end up invoking the Insurrection Act remains to be seen.