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8h ago

Pentagon Drafts Options to Send Guard to Chicago as Trump Signals Expansion of Crime Crackdown

Illinois leaders say they have received no formal outreach from Washington about any deployment.

Bus riders watch as Metropolitan Police Department officers detain a man during a traffic stop on H Street corridor in Washington, DC, on Wednesday.
A members of the Mississippi National Guard stands near the Washington Monument on the National Mall after U.S. President Donald Trump deployed the National Guard and ordered an increased presence of federal law enforcement to assist in crime prevention, in Washington, D.C., U.S., August 21, 2025. REUTERS/Al Drago
Members of the National Guard stand watch as Vice President JD Vance, not pictured, arrives to greet other members of the National Guard at Union Station in Washington, DC, on Wednesday.

Overview

  • The Washington Post reports the Defense Department has been planning for weeks to mobilize a few thousand National Guard members to Chicago as soon as September, potentially alongside expanded ICE operations.
  • President Trump said Chicago will likely be targeted next after Washington, D.C., adding that New York could follow.
  • Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson condemned the prospect of a deployment, warned it could inflame tensions, and said the state and city have not been contacted by federal officials.
  • In Washington, roughly 1,900 to 2,000 Guard troops from several Republican-led states are supporting a federalized policing effort, and CNN reported Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth directed Guard members on patrol to carry their service weapons.
  • Official data show violent crime has fallen in both Washington, D.C., and Chicago, underscoring disputes over the rationale for deploying troops as legal questions persist about federal authority to police states.