Washington: The US Supreme Court blocked President Donald Trump’s attempt to send the National Guard to the state of Illinois, dealing a setback to the administration.
The court denied the Trump administration’s request in a 6-3 vote, Xinhua news agency reported.
“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 said in an order published on its website.
The dispute dates back to October 4, when Trump called 300 members of the Illinois National Guard into active federal service in Illinois, particularly in and around Chicago. The following day, members of the Texas National Guard were also federalized and sent to Chicago, according to the court.
On October 9, the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois issued a temporary restraining order barring the federalization and deployment of the National Guard in Illinois.
The decision was upheld on October 16 by the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, which allowed the administration to federalize the National Guard but not to deploy its members.
The Trump administration then appealed to the Supreme Court.
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson, reacting to the ruling, said the president “activated the National Guard to protect federal law enforcement officers, and to ensure rioters did not destroy federal buildings and property.”
JB Pritzker, the Democratic governor of Illinois, who strongly opposed the deployment along with the Democratic mayor of Chicago, welcomed the ruling, calling it a “big win for Illinois and American democracy.”
(IANS)
