NJ Joins 24 States in Opposing Trump’s National Guard Deployment in Illinois

The coalition argues the unauthorized federalization of state troops violates constitutional principles of federalism, civilian control of the military, and state sovereignty.

NEW JERSEY — New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin has joined a coalition of 24 attorneys general and governors in urging the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit to block the Trump Administration’s continued efforts to deploy the National Guard in Illinois without the governor’s consent.

Filed on Saturday, October 12, the coalition’s amicus brief supports the State of Illinois in its legal challenge against what it calls an “unlawful, unconstitutional, and undemocratic” use of military authority by the former president. The brief underscores that the deployment of federally controlled troops without state approval threatens the longstanding American principle of civilian oversight of the military, as well as the constitutional balance between federal and state powers.

The filing comes in response to ongoing efforts by the Trump Administration to override state authority by sending National Guard forces into cities across the country, including California, Washington, D.C., Oregon, and now Illinois. The coalition argues this pattern of federal intervention circumvents local governance and amounts to a federal usurpation of local law enforcement powers, which are traditionally reserved for states.

“Judges across the country have made clear what is laid out in the Constitution – Trump’s domestic National Guard deployments are illegal,” said Attorney General Platkin. “The President is using our armed forces as his personal army, sending them into places that he has deemed insufficiently loyal or not politically aligned with him, acting no differently than authoritarians around the world. The courts must stop this blatant abuse of power and stand up for our democracy.”

Court Action

On October 11, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals denied the Trump Administration’s request for an immediate administrative stay that would have allowed continued deployment of federalized National Guard troops in Illinois. However, the court did allow the temporary federalization of the Guard to continue during the pendency of the stay request.

Attorney General Platkin and his counterparts are now urging the court to reject the administration’s broader request for a stay pending appeal, which, if granted, would permit troop deployment in Chicago and potentially other local jurisdictions in the state.

The coalition contends that permitting such deployment sets a dangerous precedent and undermines the foundational principle of federalism — that states retain control over their own law enforcement and military forces unless constitutionally authorized otherwise.

Coalition Members

In addition to New Jersey, the brief was filed by the attorneys general of:

• Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawai‘i, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington

Three governors — Laura Kelly (Kansas), Andy Beshear (Kentucky), and Josh Shapiro (Pennsylvania) — also joined the legal filing.

The case is being closely watched as it tests the limits of presidential authority in deploying military forces within U.S. borders and the constitutional role of states in controlling their own military resources, especially during peacetime and domestic operations.

A final ruling by the Seventh Circuit will have significant implications for the scope of federal power over state-controlled military forces and may influence future intergovernmental disputes over military deployments on U.S. soil.