'Make or break moment': Supreme Court is set to rule on Trump using troops in U.S. cities

"The Supreme Court is set to rule for the first time on whether the president has the power to deploy troops in American cities over the objections of local and state officials. A decision could come at any time. And even one-line order siding with Trump would send the message that the president is free to use the military to carry out his orders - and in particular, in Democratic-controlled cities and states."

"President Trump's lawyers filed an emergency appeal last week asking the court to reverse judges in Chicago who blocked the deployment of the National Guard there. The Chicago-based judges said Trump exaggerated the threat faced by federal immigration agents and had equated "protests with riots." Trump's lawyers, however, said these judges had no authority to second-guess the president. The power to deploy the National Guard "is committed to his exclusive discretion by law," they asserted in their appeal in Trump vs. Illinois."

The Supreme Court will determine whether the president can deploy troops in American cities over local and state objections. An emergency appeal asks the court to reverse judges who blocked a National Guard deployment in Chicago, where judges found the threat overstated and equated protests with riots. White House lawyers assert deployment authority is committed to the president's exclusive discretion and say Guard forces would protect federal personnel and property, not perform ordinary policing. The president has threatened similar deployments in Democratic-led cities, and past deployments in Los Angeles drew criticism for exceeding stated missions, prompting alarm from legal and Democratic leaders.

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