WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said he will abandon, for now, his attempt to deploy National Guard troops to Chicago, Los Angeles and Portland, Oregon, a move that comes after legal hurdles hampered the effort.

Trump said in a social media post Wednesday that he will withdraw Guard troops for now. “We will be back, perhaps in a much different and stronger form, when crime starts to rise again. It’s just a matter of time!” he wrote.

The troops had already left Los Angeles after the president deployed them earlier this year as part of a broader crackdown on crime and immigration. They had been sent to Chicago and Portland, but were never on the streets as the legal challenges unfolded.

Trump’s push to deploy troops to Democratic-led cities has run into legal challenges at almost every turn.

In December, the Supreme Court refused to allow the Trump administration to deploy National Guard troops to the Chicago area as part of its immigration crackdown. The order was not a final ruling, but it was a significant and rare setback by the high court to the president’s efforts.

A protester holds a sign near Marines from the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center (MCAGCC) in Twentynine Palms, California, as they protect the Wilshire Federal Building during Vice President JD Vance's visit June 12, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)
A protester holds a sign near Marines from the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center (MCAGCC) in Twentynine Palms, California, as they protect the Wilshire Federal Building during Vice President JD Vance’s visit June 12, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)

David McNew via Getty Images

In the nation’s capital, District of Columbia Attorney General Brian Schwalb filed a lawsuit to stop the deployment of more than 2,000 guardsmen.

In Oregon, a federal judge permanently blocked the deployment of National Guard troops there.

California National Guard troops had already been removed from the streets of Los Angeles on December 15 following a court ruling. But an appeals court had stayed a separate part of the order that called for control of the Guard to return to Gov. Gavin Newsom.

In a court filing Tuesday, the Trump administration said it was no longer seeking a pause on that part of the order. That paves the way for California National Guard troops to return fully to state control after Trump federalized the Guard in June.

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News writer Jaimie Ding in Los Angeles contributed to this report.