President Donald Trump has announced plans to end the 2,000 troop deployment to Los Angeles, which leaves 2,000 still there. Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell told Fox News “Thanks to our troops who stepped up to answer the call, the lawlessness in Los Angeles is subsiding. As such, the Secretary has ordered the release of 2,000 California National Guardsmen (79th IBCT) from the federal protection mission.”
Thousands Of National Guard Troops Pulled From Los Angeles– wltreport.com
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Excerpt:
The Trump administration is ending the deployment of 2,000 National Guard troops in Los Angeles, which accounts for roughly half of the troops deployed to the city.
President Trump deployed National Guard troops to Los Angeles last month after violent demonstrations erupted to protest the administration’s immigration crackdown.
Troops have guarded federal buildings and protected federal agents during immigration enforcement operations.
“Thanks to our troops who stepped up to answer the call, the lawlessness in Los Angeles is subsiding,” chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell told Fox News.
“As such, the Secretary has ordered the release of 2,000 California National Guardsmen (79th IBCT) from the federal protection mission,” he added.
In total, the administration had federalized about 4,000 National Guard troops and deployed 700 Marines in response to the riots.
2,000 National Guard members are released from duty following Los Angeles area protestshttps://t.co/QEKI6LjQ5j
— CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) July 15, 2025
Fox News provided additional details:
The deployment of National Guard troops was for 60 days, though Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had the discretion to shorten or extend it “to flexibly respond to the evolving situation on the ground,” the Trump administration’s lawyers wrote in a June 23 filing in the legal case.
Following the Pentagon’s decision Tuesday, Newsom said in a statement that the National Guard’s deployment to Los Angeles County has pulled troops away from their families and civilian work “to serve as political pawns for the President.”
He added that the remaining troops “continue without a mission, without direction and without any hopes of returning to help their communities.”
“We call on Trump and the Department of Defense to end this theater and send everyone home now,” he said.
In late June, the top military commander in charge of troops deployed to Los Angeles asked Hegseth for 200 Guardsmen to be returned to wildfire-fighting duty. Newsom had warned the Guard was understaffed as California entered peak wildfire season.
The end of the deployment comes a week after Bass was blasted on social media for interrupting federal authorities and National Guard troops during an operation at MacArthur Park, a known hotbed for homelessness and crime. The mayor claimed children were playing in the park when the “MILITARY comes through” and demanded to speak to ICE leadership at the scene. No arrests were reported, and online users lamented that Bass cared more for illegal aliens than Los Angeles fire victims.
“This retreat happened because the people of Los Angeles stood united and stood strong,” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said.
“My message today to Angelenos is clear — I will never stop fighting for this city. We will not stop making our voices heard until this ends, not just here in LA, but throughout our country,” she added.
This retreat happened because the people of Los Angeles stood united and stood strong.
My message today to Angelenos is clear — I will never stop fighting for this city. We will not stop making our voices heard until this ends, not just here in LA, but throughout our country. https://t.co/4kHMuZcsRQ
— Mayor Karen Bass (@MayorOfLA) July 15, 2025
Bass claimed the withdrawal of 2,000 National Guard troops from Los Angeles was a “big victory.”
Check it out:
Bass: We had a big victory in Los Angeles, and this is an example of what happens when Angelenos stick together. The Trump administration got the message—they’re withdrawing 50% of the National Guard troops who should never have been sent here in the first place.
Now that… pic.twitter.com/GKbQagNEbZ
— Acyn (@Acyn) July 16, 2025
More from the Associated Press:
On Tuesday afternoon, there was no visible military presence outside the federal complex downtown that had been the center of early protests and where National Guard troops first stood guard before the Marines were assigned to protect federal buildings. Hundreds of the soldiers have been accompanying agents on immigration operations.
President Donald Trump ordered the deployment against the wishes of Newsom, who sued to stop it.
Newsom argued that Trump violated the law when he deployed the California National Guard troops despite his opposition. He also argued that the National Guard troops were likely violating the Posse Comitatus Act, which prohibits troops from conducting civilian law enforcement on U.S. soil.
Newsom won an early victory in the case after a federal judge ruled the Guard deployment was illegal and exceeded Trump’s authority. But an appeals court tossed that order, and control of the troops remained with the federal government. The federal court is set to hear arguments next month on whether the troops are violating the Posse Comitatus Act.
This is a Guest Post from our friends over at 100 Percent Fed Up.
