Tennessee National Guard Deployment Challenge

A pro-democracy lawsuit challenging Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee’s (R) deployment of the state’s National Guard to Memphis.

Background

Memphis, Tennessee officials filed a lawsuit in state court challenging Gov. Bill Lee’s (R) deployment of the state’s National Guard to Memphis at the request of President Donald Trump. Plaintiffs assert the governor may only activate the National Guard within the state when there is an invasion, disaster, insurrection, riot, or attack, and only with the permission of the state’s legislature. A local government must also formally request assistance for the National Guard to be deployed to their city in the event of “a breakdown of law and order.” The lawsuit asserts none of these pre-conditions have been satisfied, and thus the deployment violates the state’s constitution and state law. Plaintiffs seek to block deployment of the National Guard’s deployment to Memphis.

Why It Matters

Trump’s weaponization of Title 32 to deploy National Guard troops to Democratic-run cities marks another escalation in the test of presidential authority and power. The Trump administration’s strong-arming of governors to send troops to Democratic-run cities within their own state represents a troubling new tactic to use the military to accomplish political ends. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) previously refused to authorize Title 32 deployments within his state, resulting in Trump’s response to deploy the Illinois and Texas National Guard to Chicago under Title 10. The Trump administration is continuing its threats to send National Guard troops to other Democratic-run cities, including New Orleans, Baltimore, San Francisco, Oakland, and New York City.

Latest Updates:

• Nov. 3, 2025: The court will hear arguments.
• Oct. 23, 2025: Defendants’ file motions seeking to advance to trial on the merits, delay plaintiffs’ motion for temporary injunction, and for an expedited hearing.
• Oct. 17, 2025: Plaintiffs’ filed their complaint and a motion for restraining order or temporary injunction. The court denied the motion.