"No authority": Dems flame Trump's proposed Chicago crackdown
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House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) speaks during a press conference at the U.S. Capitol on July 23 in Washington, DC. Photo: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said in a Sunday interview that President Trump's threats to crack down on crime in Chicago without a request from the state is an "effort to manufacture a crisis and create a distraction."
The big picture: Sending the National Guard into another Democratic-led city would be another escalation in the president's pledge to "make our country safe" and his willingness to stretch the bounds of presidential authority.
- D.C. residents overwhelmingly opposed Trump's takeover of the District's police and the mobilization of Guard members and federal law enforcement, according to a recent according to a Washington Post-Schar School poll.
State of play: But less than two weeks after Trump's announcement, the White House has touted a successful operation — and now, the president claims that Chicagoans, including "African American ladies," are "screaming" for him to target their city.
- Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) has pushed back, saying there is "no emergency that warrants the President of the United States federalizing the Illinois National Guard, deploying the National Guard from other states, or sending active duty military within our own borders."
Driving the news: In an appearance on CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday, Jeffries backed Pritzker's response that he says made clear "there's no basis, no authority for Donald Trump to potentially try to drop federal troops into the city of Chicago."
- Trump, in a Friday press conference, also said he'd target New York City after Chicago, but he did not provide a timeframe.
- "I support the Chicago Police Department. I support the New York Police Department," Jeffries said. "These are men and women who have taken an oath to protect and serve these communities, and they do a great job of that."
- While he noted Americans want safer communities, he said the way to do that is to support local law enforcement, target the flow of guns into communities and tackle deteriorating mental health.
State of play: The Washington Post first reported that the Trump administration has been planning a deployment to Chicago for weeks. CNN also confirmed those preparations.
- A Defense official declined in a statement provided to Axios to "speculate on further operations, saying, "[t]he Department is a planning organization and is continuously working with other agency partners on plans to protect federal assets and personnel."
- Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said in a Friday statement that the city had not received any formal communication regarding federal law enforcement or military action, slamming Trump's approach as "uncoordinated, uncalled for, and unsound."
- Asked Friday if there had been concrete steps taken by the administration to target Chicago, Trump said "when we're ready, we'll go ahead" and slammed Johnson as "grossly incompetent."
Catch up quick: Mobilizing the Guard to Illinois would be reminiscent of the president's operation in Los Angeles earlier this year, when some 4,000 National Guard personnel and 700 Marines were deployed against the will of state and local leadership.
- It would differ from Trump's crackdown in the District, where the president has more federal authority.
Zoom out: Former Windy City Mayor Rahm Emanuel argued on CNN Sunday that "this will not be about fighting crime." Rather, he contended, it's a push to "deal with immigration" in sanctuary cities.
- Chicago is one of several cities the Justice Department has put on notice for allegedly circumventing "enforcement of federal immigration statutes and regulations."
- While violent crime is still an issue in the city, Axios Chicago's Justin Kaufmann notes, homicide rates have dropped 31% year over year, mirroring drops in other cities.
What he's saying: "He said ... that somehow that Chicago was a mess," Emanuel, also the former ambassador to Japan, said of Trump. "Well, compared to a White House that uses Signal chat to do national security, it's not a mess."
- Emanuel said if he were still mayor, he would tell the government to "partner with us" on things like prosecuting gangs and gun violence and harnessing technology to target carjackings.
- "Don't try to come in and act like we can be an occupied city," he said.
What we're watching: Beyond New York City and Chicago, Trump has also suggested federal intervention in Oakland, California, and Baltimore, Maryland.
- He's also criticized Illinois' no cash bail policy, claiming he would change it — despite it being a state law.
Go deeper: These are the cities Trump targeted next after federalizing D.C. police
