Trump administration to send home 2,000 National Guard troops in LA
'Thanks to our troops who stepped up to answer the call, the lawlessness in Los Angeles is subsiding,' Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement to The Hill. 'As such, the Secretary has ordered the release of 2,000 California National Guardsmen (79th IBCT) from the federal protection mission.'
In June, the Trump administration deployed 4,000 National Guard troops and roughly 700 Marines to Los Angeles after an uptick in immigration raids by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The move was heavily criticized by California state officials for bypassing the consent of Gov. Gavin Newsom (D). They filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, arguing that the National Guard's sudden deployment was unlawful and put residents in possible danger by inflaming tensions.
The officials also slammed the administration for deploying the National Guard 'in the midst of peak wildfire season for both Northern and Southern California,' according to the lawsuit.
'When the state faces simultaneous emergencies, the National Guard's resources can be stretched thin,' the lawsuit read.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass (D) said the decision to send home the National Guard troops 'happened because the people of Los Angeles stood united and stood strong.'
'We organized peaceful protests, we came together at rallies, we took the Trump administration to court — all of this led to today's retreat,' she said in a statement.
'My message today to Angelenos is clear — I will never stop fighting for this city. We will not stop making our voices heard until this ends, not just here in LA, but throughout our country.'
Earlier this month, 150 Guard troops were released from the deployment to fight wildfires in the state.
Last week, Newsom praised a ruling from a federal judge that granted two temporary restraining orders preventing officials from targeting individuals for removal based on their race, language or employment. It also requires the Department of Homeland Security to grant detainees access to legal counsel.
'The court's decision puts a temporary stop to federal immigration officials violating people's rights and racial profiling,' he wrote in a statement posted to social platform X. 'California stands with the law and the Constitution — and I call on the Trump Administration to do the same.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
a minute ago
- USA Today
Liberals claimed Trump would end democracy. They were wrong again.
I was told Donald Trump would be the end of American democracy, the beginning of American fascism, the ruin of our economy and the best thing ever to happen to Vladimir Putin. What happened? Halfway through 2025, I can't help but recall the bevy of lies that progressives and the mainstream media told me about Donald Trump before and after he won a second term as president. I was told Trump would be the end of American democracy, the beginning of American fascism, the ruin of our economy and the best thing ever to happen to Russian President Vladimir Putin. None of that has happened, and I don't know whether to be disappointed or elated. But I must ask: What happened? And why have things gone so right when they were supposed to be so wrong? Progressives were wrong about the Trump economy Progressives have persistently forecast imminent economic doom since Trump was reelected in November. In April, the Associated Press reported: "President Donald Trump has panicked global financial markets, raised the risk of a recession and broken the political and economic alliances that made much of the world stable for business after World War II." That same month, Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, declared that "Donald Trump is ruining the economy on purpose." And The American Prospect, in an article headlined, "The Great Trump Crash?," predicted that tariffs would "mean an instant, near-total halt of trade between China and the U.S." None of those dire predictions proved to be true. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq recently reached record highs. Employers added more jobs than expected last month. The inflation rate ticked higher in June, but remains far below the 40-year high that Americans suffered under during the Biden administration. Opinion: Liberals call Trump a clown. But he's winning where it matters most. Progressives' scary predictions about international affairs also have proven to be false. Trump was supposed to be the green light Putin needed to pummel Ukraine into submission. Trump's America first stance also was supposed to embolden China and splinter NATO. In reality, Trump has been a peacemaker, pushing for meaningful ceasefires in conflicts from Gaza to Pakistan, Ukraine to Iran. Trump's efforts in the Middle East alone are worthy of the Nobel Peace Prize. Trump set back Iran's development of nuclear weapons, then forged a ceasefire between Iran and Israel. Diplomatic efforts to broker a lasting peace in Gaza also continue. Opinion: Trump deserves Nobel Peace Prize. He's achieved more than those who've won before. If there is to be a World War III, it doesn't appear imminent. Once again, progressives' claims about Trump were nothing but fearmongering. Democracy remains strong with Trump in the White House Probably the biggest lie the left has told about Trump is that his election would be an "extinction-level threat" for democracy. Six months into Trump's second term, I'm happy to report that democracy is still alive and well. Just look at recent headlines: New York Democrats exercised their right to vote for a socialist to run America's largest city. Millions of Americans marched in "No Kings" protests to criticize the president. Other protestors have taken to the streets to demonstrate against enforcement of our nation's immigration laws. Opinion alerts: Get columns from your favorite columnists + expert analysis on top issues, delivered straight to your device through the USA TODAY app. Don't have the app? Download it for free from your app store. Despite liberals' oft-repeated fears, the evidence overwhelmingly points to a healthy democracy, where Americans vote for the candidates of their choice and raise their voices to call out politicians and policies they don't like. Trump isn't a king; he's a duly elected president chosen by a healthy plurality of voters. His election was democracy in action. It's not just that progressives' worst fears turned out to be far from reality. The left tried to gaslight Americans into believing they'd regret voting for Trump. The fearmongering on the left was wrong, then and now. And I won't let liberals forget it. Nicole Russell is an opinion columnist with USA TODAY. She lives in Texas with her four kids. Sign up for her newsletter, The Right Track, and get it delivered to your inbox. You can read diverse opinions from our USA TODAY columnists and other writers on the Opinion front page, on X, formerly Twitter, @usatodayopinion and in our Opinion newsletter.
USA Today
a minute ago
- USA Today
Taco Bell Agua Refrescas clearly violate Trump's English-only directive
Taco Bell would prefer to pour its delicious, radical, multilingual ideology down the throats of thirsty Americans by forcing them to order Agua Refrescas. In an obvious and provocative violation of President Donald Trump's executive order declaring English the official language of the United States, the fast-food restaurant chain Taco Bell has introduced new drinks called 'Agua Refrescas.' Excuse me, Taco Bell, have you heard of a little thing called 'the law'? Because I'm pretty sure you're breaking it by offering Americans thirst-quenching strawberry and passionfruit mocktails under a name that is decidedly not English. Back in March, the great and powerful President Trump issued an executive order insisting that all Americans speak American, noting: "Establishing English as the official language will not only streamline communication but also reinforce shared national values, and create a more cohesive and efficient society.' Why does Taco Bell hate America and Donald Trump? Apparently, Taco Bell doesn't want a more cohesive and efficient society. The company would prefer to pour its delicious, radical, multilingual ideology down the throats of thirsty Americans by forcing them to order Agua Refrescas. NO THANK YOU, MR. BELL, IF THAT IS YOUR REAL NAME! Agua Refrescas are not an acceptable MAGA beverage On July 14, Attorney General Pam Bondi sent a memo to federal agencies telling them to start getting rid of 'unnecessary multilingual offerings' and saying 'the Department of Justice will lead a coordinated effort to minimize non-essential multilingual services' and 'redirect resources toward English-language education and assimilation.' While the memo does not reference fast-food beverage nomenclature, I'm pretty sure it applies, as everyone knows the quickest path to assimilation is a shared love of iced mango/peach concoctions made with what USA TODAY calls 'real freeze-dried fruit pieces and green tea.' Opinion: I saw the new liberal 'Superman' movie and it gave me the woke mind virus My reporting for this column took me to Google Translate, which helped decipher the mysterious foreign meaning of each word in Taco Bell's controversial, possibly anti-MAGA new beverage. First, the word 'agua' means 'water.' And the word 'refresca' means 'refresh.' So why, I ask, did Taco Bell officials decide to call these drinks Agua Refrescas instead of giving them a fun, patriotic, roll-off-the-tongue name like Water Refresh? Is Taco Bell violating the law with a non-English beverage name? The Taco Bell menu already contains a slew of good, traditionally American English words like 'double beef,' 'three cheese,' 'loaded,' and 'Crunchwrap.' And because I enjoy eating them, I will assume 'taco' and 'burrito' are English words as well. So is it too much to ask that a U.S. fast-food chain allow its customers to come in and order five cheesy double beef burritos and a 20-oz. Dragonfruit Berry Water Refresh, like real damn Americans?!? Opinion: Did Donald Trump eat Jeffrey Epstein's client list? Logic suggests he did. The long, radical history of aguas frescas Further reporting revealed that agua refrescas stem from a classic Mexican beverage called agua fresca, which Texas Monthly described as having been 'culturally important for a long time—so important that they were immortalized in Édouard Pingret's 1852 painting Vendedora de aguas frescas.' I don't know what most of those words mean, but I do know that Taco Bell's Agua Refrescas are transparently anti-American. A recent Los Angeles Times headline read: 'These street vendors used their aguas frescas to fight tear gas at anti-ICE protests.' What patriot wants to be caught dead drinking a beverage that could ward off the tear-gas-masked ICE agents who disperse while they're grabbing random people off the streets and sending them to foreign prisons without due process? Not me, I'll tell you that much. If Taco Bell won't comply with Trump's English-only order, it must go Look, I believe in every American's right to pursue gastrointestinal distress, but I will not sit idly by while Taco Bell insults President Trump and his English-only executive order with this new drink. The man is busy trying to make life difficult for people who don't look and sound exactly like me, and no deliciously fruity beverage should slow his xenophobic crusade. It's time to shut down Taco Bell, Mr. President. We can't Make America Great Again while sipping Marxist mocktails called Agua Refrescas. That would be no bueno ... OH GOD, THEY GOT TO ME!!!! Follow USA TODAY columnist Rex Huppke on Bluesky at @ and on Facebook at You can read diverse opinions from our USA TODAY columnists and other writers on the Opinion front page, on X, formerly Twitter, @usatodayopinion and in our Opinion newsletter.
USA Today
a minute ago
- USA Today
Trump's hero garden gets funding boost with Big Beautiful Bill. Who will be in it?
President Donald Trump's project to build the "National Garden of American Heroes" has been awarded $40 million, thanks to the megabill dubbed the "Big Beautiful Bill." In February, Trump announced he had ordered the creation of a new national park to display statues of "the greatest Americans who ever lived." Trump signed a similar executive order in 2020, which former President Joe Biden revoked the following year. The order reviving the project was part of a larger initiative preparing for the 250th anniversary of America's independence, and the Trump administration appears to want the garden completed by July 2026. The National Endowment for the Humanities put out a call for people to apply for grants to create the statues to be completed between October and July. They would be assigned historic figures to depict in their statues by the NEH. So who might be memorialized in these statues? Here is what we know: Who will be in the 'National Garden of American Heroes?' The original order suggested the statues should depict "historically significant Americans" such as scientists, civil rights leaders, police officers, labor leaders, judges, authors and teachers, to name a few. "None will have lived perfect lives, but all will be worth honoring, remembering, and studying," the order from 2020 states. In 2021, days before leaving office, Trump signed an order expanding the list of people to nearly 200. Those include: Trump's reinstated order calls on the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy to recommend other potential figures to include in the garden and bring the total number of people honored to 250. The White House did not provide an update on the final list of people who would be included. According to the NEH call for applications, the statues must be life-sized and made of marble, granite, bronze, copper or brass. Where will the hero garden be located? The location still has yet to be determined. The 2020 order specified that the park will be "on a site of natural beauty," near at least one population hub and avoid disrupting the local community. Trump first announced the plans in front of Mount Rushmore, and some people in South Dakota seem eager to bring the statue garden to the state as well. A mining company that owns land near Mount Rushmore offered some of that land for Trump's garden. "I would like to offer those same Black Hills as the perfect location for this garden," South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden said in a March 18 letter to Trump. "In fact, we have plot of land available in sight of Mount Rushmore that would be ideal for this fantastic effort." Contributing: Jason Lalljee, Maureen Groppe, Chris Mueller, USA TODAY Kinsey Crowley is the Trump Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at kcrowley@ Follow her on X and TikTok @kinseycrowley or Bluesky at @
