Attorneys Brian Kabateck and Shant Karnikian expose how Trump’s efforts to federalize the National Guard and deploy troops in what he calls “Democrat cities” are facing successful legal challenges, with a federal judge in Illinois issuing a 14-day stay blocking troop deployment after finding “no credible evidence of rebellion” and ruling that Trump’s actions are “largely rooted in animus toward Illinois elected officials” rather than any legitimate law enforcement need. The hosts reveal how Judge April Perry rejected Department of Homeland Security claims by questioning “what if DHS folks are not tethered to reality,” noting that allowing troops would “only add fuel to the fire that defendants themselves have started” and declaring “there is no place for the National Guard in the streets of American cities like Chicago,” while Trump deployed troops from California and Texas to Illinois despite local law enforcement stating things are under control. They detail how Trump initially tried to deploy Oregon’s National Guard to Portland until a Trump-appointed judge blocked it, prompting him to pivot to California and Texas troops which were also stopped, while a Ninth Circuit panel with two Trump appointees showed troubling deference by suggesting courts shouldn’t question whether the president’s assessment is “right or wrong”—raising the fundamental question of whether a president can use unfettered discretion to claim anything as an insurrection and send troops, with the hosts warning Trump’s real goal is positioning troops outside polling places in Democratic cities before the midterm elections.