FIGHTING THE ABUSE OF MILITARY POWER
Illinois v. Trump
A bipartisan group of former governors is helping to fight President Trump’s unlawful domestic deployment of National Guard troops to Chicago.
THE IMPACT
The Trump administration is escalating its authoritarian use of the military on U.S. soil – this time, deploying Texas National Guard troops into Chicago against the will of the state of Illinois. The case will define the limits of the President’s domestic military power.
THE BRIEF
In October 2025, President Trump deployed Texas National Guard troops to the streets of Chicago over the strong objections of state and local officials. In Illinois v. Trump, the state and city of Chicago are suing to fight this unlawful domestic deployment. On behalf of a high-profile group of 26 bipartisan former governors, Free + Fair filed a friend-of-the-court brief urging the court to grant the temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction blocking the federalization of the National Guard in Illinois.
President Trump’s “decision to federalize and deploy the National Guard to Chicago over the objection of Illinois’ governor stands in stark contrast to our nation’s history and tradition of federal-state cooperation,” the governors told the court.
On October 9, 2025, the court granted the temporary restraining order that we argued for in our brief. Following the Trump administration’s emergency application for a stay, we filed an additional amicus brief before the Supreme Court on October 20, 2025.
THE TEAM
Free + Fair is working pro bono with Governors Action Alliance, Joseph Baio, and Salvatore, Prescott, Porter & Porter on behalf of the bipartisan former governors.
CASE DOCUMENTS
THE GOVERNORS
- Jerry Brown, Governor of California from 1975 to 1983 and 2011 to 2019.
- Steve Bullock, Governor of Montana from 2013 to 2021.
- Arne Carlson, Governor of Minnesota from 1991 to 1999.
- Mark Dayton, Governor of Minnesota from 2011 to 2019.
- Jim Doyle, Governor of Wisconsin from 2003 to 2011.
- Parris Glendening, Governor of Maryland from 1995 to 2003.
- Jennifer Granholm, Governor of Michigan from 2003 to 2011.
- Bill Graves, Governor of Kansas from 1995 to 2003.
- Christine Gregoire, Governor of Washington from 2005 to 2013.
- Jay Inslee, Governor of Washington from 2013 to 2025.
- Tony Knowles, Governor of Alaska from 1994 to 2002.
- Gary Locke, Governor of Washington from 1997 to 2005.
- Terry McAuliffe, Governor of Virginia from 2014 to 2018.
- Janet Napolitano, Governor of Arizona from 2003 to 2009.
- Martin O’Malley, Governor of Maryland from 2007 to 2015.
- Deval Patrick, Governor of Massachusetts from 2007 to 2015.
- Marc Racicot, Governor of Montana from 1993 to 2001.
- Bill Ritter Jr., Governor of Colorado from 2007 to 2011.
- Kathleen Sebelius, Governor of Kansas from 2003 to 2009.
- Steve Sisolak, Governor of Nevada from 2019 to 2023.
- Eliot Spitzer, Governor of New York from 2007 to 2008.
- Ted Strickland, Governor of Ohio from 2007 to 2011.
- Tom Vilsack, Governor of Iowa from 1999 to 2007.
- Bill Weld, Governor of Massachusetts from 1991 to 1997.
- Christine Todd Whitman, Governor of New Jersey from 1994 to 2001.
- Tom Wolf, Governor of Pennsylvania from 2015 to 2023.
Featured Press
Some bipartisanship still exists — with former governors. More than two dozen of them filed a motion on Wednesday afternoon requesting permission to enter a legal brief objecting to the Texas Guard mobilization in Illinois. Among the Republicans were William Weld of Massachusetts, Bill Graves of Kansas, Arne Carlson of Minnesota, Marc Racicot of Montana and Christie Whitman of New Jersey.
The New York Times October 8, 2025
