Supreme Court asks for more briefs on Trump push to send troops to Chicago

Source: Washington Post

October 29, 2025 at 5:19 p.m. EDT


The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the Trump administration and Illinois officials for additional briefs on their dispute over whether President Donald Trump can send troops to Chicago, pushing a decision on the matter into mid-November at the earliest.

The request means that Trump’s proposed troop deployment, which was initially halted by a federal judge on Oct. 9, would remain blocked for more than a month.

After the Trump administration had asked the Supreme Court on Oct. 17 to allow the deployment to proceed, the court asked Illinois officials to respond within three days. The tight timeline suggested that the justices could have potentially intended to rule on the matter quickly. The new request for more information over a longer time period could signal that the justices are more split on the issue than they first appeared.

Trump has attempted or pledged to send troops into several cities — including Chicago, Portland and D.C. — saying the National Guard is needed to protect immigration enforcement officers and combat crime. Some local and state officials have filed lawsuits challenging his campaign as unnecessary, incendiary and unconstitutional.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/10/29/supreme-court-illinois-chicago-troops-trump/