Trump Demands $5 Billion Lawsuit Over Report Criticizing National Guard Deployment Effectiveness

Former President Donald Trump has threatened a $5 billion lawsuit against the Center for American Progress (Cap), a liberal think tank, demanding the retraction of a report that questioned the effectiveness of his administration's National Guard deployments.

The report, released on July 13, 2026, specifically examined the deployment of the National Guard in Washington D.C., Memphis, and Los Angeles. It argued that these deployments, which cost an estimated $1.7 billion, did not demonstrably reduce crime in the targeted cities. Cap's analysis indicated that crime rates in cities without National Guard intervention decreased at statistically similar rates to those that received the intervention, and that the decline in violent crime predated Trump's presidency.