Trump Looks to Chicago Next in Federal Crackdown

Trump Looks to Chicago Next in Federal Crackdown

The president deployed National Guard troops across D.C. this month

By Jennifer Calfas, WSJ

Aug. 23, 2025 1:43 pm ET

Chicago will likely be the next target in what President Trump has called a crackdown on crime, the president said Friday, prompting pushback from city and state leaders who called the possible deployment of National Guard troops an overreach of federal power.

“Chicago’s a mess,” President Trump said Friday. “We’ll straighten that one out probably next.” And then, he added, “we’ll help with New York.”

The Trump administration deployed National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., this month and to Los Angeles earlier this year. The president describes the tactics as part of an effort to make cities safer. These actions have elicited questions over the role of military power on U.S. soil and criticism from local Democratic leaders.

When asked by a reporter, Trump said he hadn’t taken steps to bring the crackdown to Chicago. “When we’re ready, we’ll go in and we’ll straighten out Chicago, just like we did D.C.,” Trump said.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said Friday that city leaders haven’t heard from the Trump administration about the possible deployment of federal law enforcement. Johnson pushed back on the president’s comments and said crimes, including homicides, robberies and shootings, have declined in the city over the past year.

“There are many things the federal government could do to help us reduce crime and violence in Chicago, but sending in the military is not one of them,” Johnson said.

White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said Saturday that Trump “wants every city across the country to be safe for everyday Americans.”

The Trump administration has deployed more than 2,000 National Guard troops in Washington, D.C., as part of a campaign to increase security and decrease crime in the nation’s capital, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has authorized the soldiers to carry weapons. Trump also asserted more control of the D.C. police force, invoking laws that temporarily give the federal government such powers in the nation’s capital when an emergency exists.

Violent crime in D.C. fell last year to the lowest level in more than three decades, according to Justice Department data.

Immigration enforcement has been the most visible part of the federal crackdown in D.C., with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents targeting businesses, daycare centers and churches, according to witnesses, families and videos shared online.

While the capital’s National Guard contingent reports directly to the federal government, state National Guards answer to governors unless they are federalized. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, is challenging the Trump administration’s deployment of National Guard troops in Los Angeles in court, calling it an unconstitutional use of federal power that usurped the state’s authority. The Trump administration has said the deployments were necessary to quell protests against raids conducted by ICE agents.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said Friday the Trump administration has used Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., as a “testing ground for authoritarian overreach.”