Trump Doesn’t Rule Out ‘Stronger’ Guard Return To Dem-Led Cities

PAUL’S DEFENSE BRIEF (PDB) –  The Trump administration has withdrawn all federalized National Guard troops from U.S. cities, after its repeated attempts to surge forces into Democratic-run states encountered judicial roadblocks.

The pullout was completed last month, with no public acknowledgment from the White House or the Pentagon other than a social media post weeks earlier in which President Trump announced the troops’ removal.

Trump’s Truth Social post from December warned it was “Only a question of time!” before crime would begin “to soar again,” necessitating a return “perhaps in a much different and stronger form.”

The deployments — including more than 5,000 troops to Los Angeles, about 500 to Chicago, and 200 to Portland, Oregon — were ordered despite the vehement opposition from Democrat state and local leaders.

More than 2,500 National Guard members remain in D.C. in response to Trump’s ordered deployment, but under nonfederal status.

FOR YOUR EYES ONLY – Here’s a roundup of today’s other top defense news from conservative national security expert PAUL CRESPO.

THE PDB – Not the President’s Daily Briefing, but almost as good – PAUL’S DEFENSE BRIEF:    

NATIONAL SECURITY

Drone warfare requires a new age of battlefield medicine. Warfare has always evolved faster than the institutions tasked with managing its consequences, and Russia’s war in Ukraine has made this reality unmistakably clear.

“It just blows your lungs out of your mouth.” Since its introduction in World War II by the German army, the U.S., Russia, and now, reportedly, Israel have utilized the deadly capabilities of thermobaric munitions.

HOMELAND DEFENSE

Pentagon allowed Customs and Border Protection to use an anti-drone laser near Ft. Bliss Army base to take down a cartel drone, leading the Federal Aviation Administration to suddenly close the airspace over El Paso, Texas.

DEFENSE POLITICS

Left-wing Washington, D.C. grand jury refused to indict Democratic lawmakers in connection with a video where they urged active-duty troops to resist unspecified “illegal orders,” seen by the Pentagon as akin to inciting mutiny.

Congress should give the Pentagon more teeth over military services’ tech budgets to streamline and coordinate military modernization initiatives, says watchdog agency, but services resist.

Planned restructuring of VA will cost an estimated $312 million over five years and require an initial investment of $521 million.

US POWER OVERSEAS

Navy’s top admiral touts flexibility and risk to fix “brittle” crisis response strategy. He wants the service to take more calculated risks when responding to events around the globe.

As naval combat evolves, there will be few “safe havens” in future war. The U.S. Navy has been heavily involved in combat operations in recent years, where sailors were pitted against enemy drones, missiles, unmanned boats, and other threats.

U.S. can destroy terrorist camps in Nigeria, but not terrorism – says security scholar. U.S. military airstrikes on Islamic State-linked militants in north-western Nigeria on Christmas Day 2025 attracted global attention.

GREENLAND CRISIS

NATO kicked off operation Arctic Sentry to bolster the alliance’s posture in the high north, after weeks of deliberations by allies on how to address claims by Trump that security threats in the region require the U.S. take control of Greenland.

IRAN THREAT

As he mulls a decision about whether to attack Iran, President Trump ordered a second aircraft carrier strike group to prepare for a Middle East deployment. However, even if authorized, it would take weeks for vessels to arrive in the region.

Trump said he had “insisted” to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Washington’s resumed talks with Iran over its nuclear program will continue, but that no “definitive” agreement had been reached. Netanyahu wants to expand the negotiations to include Tehran’s ballistic missile program.

CHINA THREAT

Marines can protect Pacific facilities amid China’s militia-contested waters and coercive efforts, a general says. The service’s forward-deployed forces can protect future prepositioning sites in the Philippines despite maritime militias operating around the first island chain.

RUSSIA THREAT/UKRAINE WAR

Moscow will observe limits of the last nuclear arms pact with the U.S. that expired last week as long as it sees that Washington is doing the same, Russia’s top diplomat said.

Russia still sees the U.S. as its top adversary, Estonian intelligence says. Recent U.S.-Russian talks about ending Moscow’s war on Ukraine should not be taken as a sign that Russia poses less of a threat to the U.S. and Europe.

EUROPEAN DEFENSE BUILDUP

NATO innovation chief: Alliance must speed up, or risk Russian invasion. Deterring a Russian attack depends not just on NATO’s military forces, but on proof that alliance members can bring new technology to the fight as quickly as Moscow.

NORTH KOREA THREAT

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un chooses teen daughter as heir, says South Korean intelligence. Particular attention will be paid to whether she is given an official title or a more prominent role. Her potential elevation would mark significant development in a deeply patriarchal country.

A South Korean brigadier general has become the first South Korean woman to serve as deputy commander of the 2nd Infantry Division, the only U.S. Army division that integrates troops from another country into its ranks.

US MILITARY

Air Force leaders aren’t axing all of the previous administration’s efforts to prepare for a fight with China. For one, they are continuing to implement Agile Combat Employment — its hub-and-spoke approach to basing.

Reports suggest that F-35 Joint Strike Fighters are being delivered to the U.S. military without radars due to chronic issues with the key upgrade program.

Navy wants long-range strike drones that can be launched from destroyers and other warships that lack flight decks.

The Marine Corps has big plans in 2026 toward fielding a drone wingman to collaborate with the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

Marines have tapped one of the companies competing to build the Air Force’s drone wingman to help develop its own Corps-specific Collaborative Combat Aircraft program.

Marine Corps on track to hit Fiscal Year 2026 recruiting and retention goals as it grapples with a decreasing number of young, eligible Americans.

Coast Guard to secure five new Arctic Security Cutters, bringing the total number of cutters being manufactured to 11 to meet Trump’s executive orders to expand the tiny, aging U.S. icebreaker fleet.

END of PDB

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.

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