By David Shepardson and Ismail Shakil and Idrees Ali, Reuters
At Trump's request, three Republican governors said they were sending hundreds of national guard troops to Washington, DC (file image). Photo: AFP / MANDEL NGAN
- Options include mobilising at least a few thousand National Guard members as soon as September, Washington Post says
- Trump has threatened to deploy National Guard troops in large cities run by Democrats
- Trump has expanded federal crackdown in Democrat-run DC, Los Angeles
The Pentagon is working on plans to deploy the US military to Chicago, as President Donald Trump cracks down on crime, homelessness and undocumented immigration, the Washington Post reports.
In the works for weeks, the Defense Department planning involves several options, including mobilising at least a few thousand members of the national guard as soon as September, the Post reports, citing officials familiar with the matter.
"Chicago is a mess," Republican Trump said, deriding its mayor, as he continued his attacks on cities run by Democratic politicians.
"We'll straighten that one out probably next."
The Pentagon said: "We won't speculate on further operations. The department is a planning organisation, and is continuously working with other agency partners on plans to protect federal assets and personnel."
Asked for comment, the White House referred to Trump's statement on Friday.
JB Pritzker, the Democratic governor of Illinois, which includes Chicago, said the state had received no outreach from the federal government on whether it needed assistance. He said there was no emergency warranting a National Guard or other military deployment.
"Donald Trump is attempting to manufacture a crisis, politicise Americans who serve in uniform and continue abusing his power to distract from the pain he is causing working families," Pritzker said.
A spokesperson for Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. On Friday, Johnson said the city had grave concerns about the impact of any unlawful deployment of national guard troops.
"The problem with the President's approach is that it is unco-ordinated, uncalled for and unsound," the mayor said, adding that over the past year, homicides in Chicago had fallen by more than 30 percent, robberies by 35 percent and shootings by almost 40 percent.
At Trump's request last weekend, the Republican governors of three states said they were sending hundreds of National Guard troops hundreds of miles to Washington, DC.
The president has portrayed the nation's capital as a city awash in crime, although Justice Department data shows violent crime hit a 30-year low last year in Washington, a self-governing federal district under the jurisdiction of Congress.
In June, Trump ordered 700 marines and 4000 national guard troops to Los Angeles, against the wishes of California's Democratic governor, during protests over mass immigration raids by federal officials.
- Reuters
