Overview

• The U.S. Army said more than 2,200 National Guard members in Washington are now permitted to carry service weapons, with force allowed only as a last resort against imminent threats.
• The Washington Post reported the Pentagon has been drafting plans to send several thousand Guard troops to Chicago as early as September, while the Defense Department declined to confirm the reporting.
• President Donald Trump said Chicago could be next and threatened Baltimore and New York, prompting Maryland’s Wes Moore to refuse use of his state’s Guard and label the idea unconstitutional.
• Democratic leaders including Hakeem Jeffries argued Trump lacks legal authority to insert Guard forces into cities, and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker vowed to resist what he called an attempt to impose presidential will.
• Washington’s deployment includes more than 1,900 Guard reservists drawn largely from Republican-led states alongside FBI, ICE and DEA agents, following June’s larger operation in Los Angeles.