Federal actions span military deployments, immigration enforcement, and healthcare policy changes.
Trump’s 49th week brought updates to the National Guard, immigration, abortion, and lawsuits. Following previous reports from The Introspective detailing a Supreme Court ruling that the National Guard deployment to Portland was illegal and another detailing a district judge ruling the ongoing deployment to Washington, D.C., illegal, the Supreme Court blocked the National Guard from being deployed to Chicago. The move raised further implications as the Guard was later deployed to New Orleans on Christmas Eve.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) halted funding for survivors of human trafficking, sparking backlash as the Jeffrey Epstein scandal continues. Meanwhile, amid ongoing anti-immigrant sentiment, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced plans to hold 80,000 undocumented immigrants in warehouses.
As backlash over abortion continues, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) banned its members from receiving abortion services, including in cases of rape or incest. At the same time, 19 states and Washington, D.C., sued the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) over young people’s access to gender-affirming care.
National Guard
As the National Guard deployment in Washington, D.C., continues, the Supreme Court blocked the Trump administration from deploying the Guard to Chicago.
“At this preliminary stage, the government has failed to identify a source of authority that would allow the military to execute the laws in Illinois,” the court wrote in its order.
Supreme Court Chicago
Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who sided with the court’s decision, added that deploying the Guard would set a new precedent.
“The court’s legal interpretation, as I understand it, could lead to potentially significant implications for future crises that we cannot now foresee,” he wrote.
In a press release, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker celebrated the ruling, calling it a “big win for Illinois and American democracy.”
“I am glad the Supreme Court has ruled that Donald Trump did not have the authority to deploy the federalized Guard in Illinois. This is an important step in curbing the Trump administration’s consistent abuse of power and slowing Trump’s march toward authoritarianism,” he wrote.
“American cities, suburbs, and communities should not have to face masked federal agents asking for their papers, judging them for how they look or sound, and living in fear that a president can deploy the military to their streets,” he continued.
“The brave men and women of our National Guard should never be used for political theater and deserve to be with their families and communities, especially during the holidays, and ready to serve overseas or at home when called upon during times of immense need.”
White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said the ruling “detracts” from Trump’s agenda.
“The president promised the American people he would work tirelessly to enforce our immigration laws and protect federal personnel from violent rioters,” she said in a statement obtained by The Introspective.
“He activated the National Guard to protect federal law enforcement officers and ensure rioters did not destroy federal buildings and property. Nothing in today’s ruling detracts from that core agenda,” she continued.
“The administration will continue working day in and day out to safeguard the American public.”
The Pentagon later deployed 350 National Guard troops to New Orleans, with Guard members expected to remain in the city until Mardi Gras.
“These National Guard troops will support federal law enforcement partners, including the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security, as they enforce federal law and counter high rates of violent crime in New Orleans and other metropolitan areas in Louisiana,” Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said in a press release.
Maj. Gen. Thomas Friloux, the adjutant general of Louisiana, later said the Guard members were under Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry’s command.
“Our Louisiana National Guardsmen are highly trained professionals. Many of them supported law enforcement efforts in Washington, D.C., and are ready to support our home state,” he told WVUE.
“We’ve mobilized multiple times this year to support efforts in New Orleans and are ready to do so again for the next two months.”
This comes as New Orleans recorded 124 homicides in 2024, a record low.
Immigration & DOJ
The DOJ sparked backlash after halting funding for victims and survivors of human trafficking, raising further implications as the Jeffrey Epstein scandal continues.
“It’s extremely irresponsible, and maybe even immoral,” said Kristina Rose, who ran the DOJ’s Office for Victims of Crime under former President Joe Biden and served as deputy director during Trump’s first term, in an interview with The Guardian.
Rose, a former DOJ director, said the steps to award funding for the new year had been completed, but the funding had still not been allocated.
“I can’t remember a time when appropriated human-trafficking funding took this long to award,” she said.
“It just doesn’t make any sense, because the money is there.”
This also comes as a report from The Washington Post details plans for ICE to hold 80,000 undocumented immigrants in warehouses throughout Virginia, Texas, Louisiana, Arizona, Georgia, and Missouri, in an attempt to quicken deportations.
VA and Indictments
As backlash to abortion continues, the Trump administration banned the Department of Veterans Affairs from providing abortion services to veterans and their dependents, including in cases of rape and incest.
“The Department of Veterans Affairs may not provide abortion services under any provision of Chapter 17 of Title 38 of the U.S. Code,” the memo read.
VA Abortion Services
In a statement obtained by The Introspective, VA press secretary Peter Kasperowicz said the agency is “complying immediately” with the new regulations.
“DOJ’s opinion is consistent with VA’s proposed rule, which continues to work its way through the regulatory process,” he said.
Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward, called the abortion ban “callous and inhumane.”
“Veterans deserve dignity and respect that includes the freedom to make their own health care decisions,” Perryman said in a press release.
Meanwhile, multiple states—California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Wisconsin, Washington state and Pennsylvania—along with Washington, D.C., sued the Department of Health and Human Services over policies restricting gender-affirming care.
“The secretary has no legal authority to substantively alter the standards of care and effectively ban, by fiat, an entire category of health care,” the lawsuit read, referring to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
“Nor does the secretary have authority to threaten providers’ participation in federal programs, including reimbursement by Medicare and Medicaid, by fiat.”
HHS Lawsuit Dec 2025
This comes as gender-affirming care for minors is banned or restricted in 27 states.
“Men are men. Men can never become women. Women are women. Women can never become men. Children are innocent and need our protection,” said HHS Deputy Secretary Jim O’Neill during a press conference, using transphobic language.
New York Attorney General Letitia James, who led the lawsuit, further criticized HHS in a press release.
“At the core of this so-called declaration are real people: young people who need care, parents trying to support their children, and doctors who are simply following the best medical evidence available,” she said.
“Secretary Kennedy cannot unilaterally change medical standards by posting a document online, and no one should lose access to medically necessary health care because their federal government tried to interfere in decisions that belong in doctors’ offices.”
The Introspective 
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