The Pentagon has been planning a potential military deployment in Chicago for the past several weeks.
According to officials who spoke with the Washington Post, troops could be deployed to the third-largest U.S. city as early as September. The report noted that Trump administration officials were weighing a mission like the one carried out in Los Angeles in response to days of protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions. That action sent 4,000 members of the California National Guard and several hundred Marines to the city.
The insiders shared that the idea of sending several thousand active-duty members of the military to the Windy City had been broached, but seemed unlikely. The Department of Defense declined to comment when reached by the Post.
Trump has repeatedly touted the idea of sending federal troops into Democrat-controlled cities, alleging that local leaders aren’t doing enough to curtail crime. The president recently took control of Washington, D.C.’s police force and deployed the National Guard in the capital. Speaking to reporters on Friday, he praised the ongoing efforts in D.C. and turned his eyes toward Chicago.
“Chicago’s a mess,” Trump said. “And we’ll straighten that one out probably next. That’ll be our next one after this. And it won’t even be tough.”
Responding to the comments in a post to X, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said that he’s made “no requests for federal intervention.
“The safety of the people of Illinois is always my top priority. There is no emergency that warrants the President of the United States federalizing the [Illinois National Guard], deploying the National Guard from other states, or sending active duty military within our own borders,” he wrote. “Donald Trump is attempting to manufacture a crisis, politicize Americans who serve in uniform, and continue abusing his power to distract from the pain he’s causing families.”
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Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said his administration had “grave concerns” about the possible deployment.
“The problem with the President’s approach is that it is uncoordinated, uncalled for, and unsound,” he shared.
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