WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that the U.S. military might deploy to Chicago and is ready to go anywhere on short notice to crack down on crime.
Citing a purported wave of lawlessness, Trump seized control this month of the police force in Washington, D.C., and is allowing National Guard troops to carry weapons while on patrol in the city. He has threatened to expand the U.S. military presence to Democrat-controlled cities like Baltimore and Chicago.
"We can go anywhere on less than 24 hours' notice," Trump said when asked on Monday whether the Pentagon was preparing for deployment to Chicago.
"They need help. We may wait. We may or may not, we may just go in and do it, which is probably what we should do," Trump told reporters who were in the Oval Office as he signed executive orders aimed at stopping criminal suspects from being released on cashless bail.
Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker said his state had made no request for federal intervention and the Illinois attorney general said legal action would be taken to prevent a federal deployment in Chicago.
"This is about Donald Trump searching for any justification to deploy the military in a blue city, in a blue state, to try to intimidate his political rivals," said Pritzker, a billionaire Democrat who has been discussed as a possible presidential candidate in 2028.
Trump on Monday also ordered the Department of Defense to ensure that every state has some National Guard troops who are ready to rapidly mobilize to help quell civil disturbances and assist in public safety. The order also said there should be a standing quick reaction force that can be deployed around the country.
The National Guard already has a quick reaction force that can respond to emergency events that require security support. This force, known as the NGRF, can deploy with 75-125 personnel in eight hours and then a follow-on force of up to 375 personnel within 24 hours.
U.S. officials have told Reuters that there has been initial planning at the Pentagon about what a deployment of National Guard troops to Chicago would look like.
One official said the plans were part of the military's efforts to anticipate any requests by Trump and noted senior Pentagon officials have not yet been briefed on them. It is not uncommon for the Pentagon to plan for potential deployments before formal orders are given.
Chicago has long had high levels of gun violence but crime, including homicide, has declined in the last year.
The city's mayor, Brandon Johnson, told reporters on Monday that federal money in recent years had helped the city cut its homicide rate by more than 30% year over year.
Johnson, a Democrat, demanded that Trump reinstate millions of dollars in public safety funding for the city that were cut in April as part of the administration's government downsizing effort.
(Reporting by Steve Holland, Idrees Ali and Emily Schmall; Writing by Katharine Jackson and Jasper Ward; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama, Rosalba O'Brien and Caitlin Webber)
