Trump Seeks Troops in San Francisco After Ninth Circuit

President Donald Trump has repeatedly said he intends to send National Guard or other federal troops to San Francisco and suggested he could invoke the rarely used Insurrection Act to bypass court limits, saying “they want us in San Francisco.” San Francisco leaders — including Mayor Daniel Lurie, City Attorney David Chiu and District Attorney Brooke Jenkins — have pushed back, saying crime has fallen, the city has seen an AI-driven economic resurgence, and noting the National Guard does not have authority to make arrests or solve the fentanyl crisis. A recent Ninth Circuit ruling allowing deployment to Portland may clear a pathway for federal action here, but prior court orders and local restrictions in places such as Chicago and Cook County have constrained federal agents and complicated deployments. Tech figures such as Marc Benioff briefly urged a troop presence and later apologized, and local officials have characterized the proposal as politically motivated retribution against Democratic-run cities. It remains unclear whether any troops have been mobilized or when a deployment to San Francisco would occur, and legal, political and public-opinion battles are likely to determine whether and how federal forces could be used.