Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) on Sunday condemned President Trump’s reported plans to deploy troops in Chicago, saying there’s “no justification” for the move in Democratic cities.
“President Trump’s illegal attempt to militarize Chicago will do nothing but spark chaos and create spectacle,” Krishnamoorthi said in a statement Sunday.
“There is no emergency in Illinois that warrants federalizing our National Guard or deploying active-duty troops into our communities—just as there was no justification in Washington or Los Angeles,” the Illinois Democrat continued.
More than 2,200 National Guard troops have deployed to Washington, D.C., as part of the joint task force that has taken over policing in the nation’s capital. Trump similarly deployed National Guard members to Los Angeles last month amid a surge in demonstrations against Trump’s immigration enforcement efforts.
Trump said Friday that Chicago would likely be the next target of his efforts to crack down on crime, homelessness and illegal immigration.
“I think Chicago will be … next,” Trump told reporters at the White House.
“And then we’ll help with New York.”
The Washington Post reported Saturday that the Pentagon for weeks has been planning a military deployment to Chicago.
The planning could involve several options, the Post reported, including sending a few thousand members of the National Guard as soon as September to patrol the city’s streets.
“Donald Trump’s flagrant abuses of power must end,” Krishnamoorthi said. “Our brave servicemen and women are not pawns in his political games.”
Krishnamoorthi said he introduced legislation to block any president from deploying the military into states without a governor first requesting the intervention.
“If the president is serious about making Chicago safer, we’re ready to work with his Administration—but not on half-baked stunts that trample the Constitution and spread chaos. I stand with Governor Pritzker and Mayor Johnson in rejecting this reckless overreach and defending the rule of law,” he continued.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson (D) said he was talking to Gov. JB Pritzker (D) and other local officials about preparing for “any potential unconstitutional military deployments to Chicago.”
“The Governor, the Cook County Board President, and I are in complete alignment: Chicago is not calling for a military occupation of our city,” Johnson said in a statement. “We are currently evaluating all of our legal options to protect the people of Chicago from unconstitutional federal overreach.”
“No matter what happens, the City of Chicago will not waver. We are Chicago. We will not bend or cower, and we will never break,” he added.
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