Portlandia

As Trump masses troops outside blue cities in the name of protecting federal properties, current and former members of the military grapple with the question of which orders are legal—and resent being dragged into the muck of politics.

So far, of course, there is little agreement that Trump’s current troop deployments are illegal. Challenges to the deployments in Chicago and Portland, among others, are still winding their way through the courts. Photo: Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images

Julia Ioffe

October 9, 2025

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If the Trump presidencies have offered the nation an advanced civics class—on rescissions, the Emoluments Clause, Title 32—some of the thorniest coursework has been assigned to the military. During the past several months, Trump has repeatedly sent members of the armed forces, including the National Guard and the Marines, to patrol Democratic-run cities like D.C. and L.A. So far, challenges to these deployments have mostly played out in the courts. But as more National Guard troops gather outside Chicago, Portland, and soon, Memphis, current and former military officers are also grappling with what this means for them. Like members of so many American institutions, they have found themselves wondering: Can the president really do that?