WASHINGTON —

A constitutional showdown over the president's deployment of the National Guard took place in two separate courtrooms Thursday. The Illinois and Oregon cases examine the limits of the president's power over state sovereignty and will.

In Illinois, lawyers representing the state called the deployment a "constitutional crisis" and urged the judge to order the National Guard to stand down in Chicago. Trump administration lawyers argued the deployment is needed to address an area rife with "tragic lawlessness."

At the heart of the cases, the Trump administration says that President Donald Trump has absolute authority to decide when to deploy National Guard troops domestically, and it's not up to states or courts to question.

"We've deployed federal law enforcement and

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