Pentagon working on plans for military deployment in Chicago

24/8/2025 12:44

The Pentagon is working on plans to deploy the U.S. military to Chicago as President Donald Trump says he is cracking down on crime, homelessness and undocumented immigration, the Washington Post reported on Saturday.



The Defense Department planning, in the works for weeks, involves several options, including mobilizing at least a few thousand members of the National Guard as soon as September, the Post reported, citing officials familiar with the matter.



"Chicago is a mess," Trump, a Republican, told reporters on Friday, deriding its mayor as he continued his attacks on cities run by Democratic politicians. "And we'll straighten that one out probably next."



The Pentagon said in a statement late on Saturday: “We won't speculate on further operations. The department is a planning organization and is continuously working with other agency partners on plans to protect federal assets and personnel."



JB Pritzker, the Democratic governor of Illinois, which includes Chicago, said in a statement 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, politicize Americans who serve in uniform and continue abusing his power to distract from the pain he is causing working families," Pritzker said.