Trump shelves Chicago crackdown plans for now as advisers warn of legal headaches

Source: CNN

Trump shelves Chicago crackdown plans for now as advisers warn of legal headaches

PUBLISHED Sep 12, 2025, 6:45 PM ET
By Alayna Treene, Hannah Rabinowitz

President Donald Trump shelved his plans to target Chicago as the next city for his domestic crime push after advisers warned him that sending in troops to help with local law enforcement without buy-in from the state’s governor could create legal headaches they want to avoid, sources familiar with the matter told CNN.

While Trump has privately argued he has the power to send the National Guard where he wants, he’s decided for now to set his sights on Memphis because the Democratic city, and more specifically the state’s Republican governor, is willing to accept federal help, the sources said.

The sources stressed that Trump could still decide to plow ahead on blue cities like Chicago, Baltimore and New York — all of which he’s suggested could see troops on their streets. But moving first on Memphis shows the administration is attuned to the potential legal and political concerns tied to such moves. Polls have shown that while voters broadly want to see reduced crime, many don’t necessarily think sending troops into cities would make them safer. Those optics could get worse if federal officials deploy troops into a city with Democrats who are fighting those efforts. And federalized troops cannot perform law enforcement activities, as it would be a violation of the Posse Comitatus Act.

Even in Memphis, many local leaders object to the federal presence, and the city’s mayor signaled some reservations over the administration’s plans.

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Read more: https://edition.cnn.com/2025/09/12/politics/chicago-memphis-trump-national-guard