Newsom, Pritzker threaten to pull out of National Governors Association over Trump's troop deployments

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On Monday, Illinois Governor Pritzker sent a letter to the National Governors Association Chair Kevin Stitt, urging him to denounce a plan to send members of the Texas National Guard to Illinois to assist the Illinois National Guard in defending federal agents conducting immigration enforcement in Chicago.

In a letter to association members, Newsom, the California governor, said Trump’s calling up of troops against his and other Democratic governors’ wishes was an “unprecedented assault” on states’ rights. Pritzker, the Illinois governor, in a separate message to the Republican chair of the NGA said he will pull Illinois out of the group if its leadership remains silent on the deployment of the Texas National Guard to Illinois.

Newsom also said he would call on his fellow governors to also pull out if the bipartisan association doesn’t take a joint stand on the issue.

The NGA “has lost its voice and its way in the face of the Trump administration’s onslaught against democratic norms, including efforts to undermine the sovereignty of states as protected by the Tenth Amendment," Newsom wrote.

Pritzker’s message was directed to Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, the chair of the NGA. Newsom’s letter, while addressed to all the association’s members, plainly targeted Republican governors of the group, too. Each member of the Democratic Governors Association condemned Trump’s first Guard deployment to Los Angeles, and the DGA on Monday blasted Trump’s latest moves to send troops to Illinois and Oregon.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/pritzker-newsom-threaten-to-quit-national-governors-association-over-trump-troop-deployments/ar-AA1O1T1I


Gov. Pritzker:

October 6, 2025

Governor State of Oklahoma
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Suite 212
Oklahoma City, OK 73105

Dear Governor Stitt: On April 29th, 2024, I joined you and 51 of our colleagues in sending a letter to President Biden’s Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, voicing our opposition to Legislative Proposal 480. In that letter, we stood united—53 Governors strong—around a fundamental principle: “Ensuring the National Guard is adequately equipped with resources and capabilities to serve as the operational combat reserve for national security missions and to support domestic emergencies is among the National Governors Association's highest priorities.”

Together, Democratic and Republican Governors unequivocally reminded the Biden Administration of a shared commitment: “For over a century, Title 10 and Title 32 of U.S.C. have upheld gubernatorial authority over the National Guard. National Guard assets are critical components of states and territories’ responses to crises. Governors must maintain full authority as Commanders in Chief of these assets to protect operational readiness and America’s communities.”

Our collective belief then—and my unwavering conviction now—is that actions “that sidestep, eliminate or otherwise reduce Governors’ authority within their states and territories undermine longstanding partnerships, precedence, military readiness and operational efficacy. This action also negatively affects the important relationships between Governors and the federal government at a time when we need full trust and confidence to meet growing threats posed by strategic competition as well as natural disasters.”

The principles we defended in April 2024 rose above party lines and presidential administrations. They are constitutional imperatives that demand protection regardless of the occupant of the White House.

That is why I am calling on you, as Chair of the National Governors Association, to speak out against the unconstitutional deployment of Texas National Guard units into Illinois without my consent or authorization. Texas Governor Greg Abbott said he authorized, in coordination with President Trump, his state’s National Guard to operate within Illinois borders – a direct violation of the principles we all defended just months ago. This is precisely the federal and interstate overreach we warned against—gubernatorial authority being trampled, state sovereignty being ignored, and the constitutional balance between states being attacked. If the President continues overriding Governors to deploy military assets into another state against another Governor’s will, we have 2 abandoned the foundational principles that have protected our Republic for nearly 250 years. This action must be denounced immediately and unequivocally by the National Governors Association.

The credibility of the National Governors Association—and our integrity as state executives—rests on our willingness to apply our principles consistently, regardless of which administration attacks them. Should National Governors Association leadership choose to remain silent, Illinois will have no choice but to withdraw from the organization. I remain hopeful that principled leadership will prevail over political calculation and we can chart a path forward together.

Governor JB Pritzker
State of Illinois