President Donald Trump authorized a measure on Monday for the deployment of the National Guard to Memphis, indicating that Chicago would be the subsequent target in his nationwide effort to combat crime.
Trump revealed the establishment of a task force designed to deploy federal personnel and agents to Memphis, encompassing the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Drug Enforcement Administration, various other federal agencies, and the National Guard. He stated that this initiative was formed at the behest of Tennessee Governor Bill Lee. The President described the operation as a “replication” of the strategy previously implemented in Los Angeles.
Trump additionally identified other municipalities where comparable actions might soon be initiated. “Chicago is likely next on our agenda,” Trump declared from the Oval Office on Monday, further asserting, “we intend to proceed on a large scale.” He subsequently mentioned, “St. Louis will also be addressed.”
This declaration occurred with prominent figures from Trump’s cabinet positioned around his desk, among them Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.
“This collective will utilize the comprehensive authority of federal law enforcement,” Trump affirmed.
Lee, who attended Trump’s announcement, expressed his weariness with “crime impeding the advancement of the distinguished city of Memphis.” Tennessee Senators Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty were likewise in attendance.
The endorsement from Tennessee’s Republican governor and senators distinguishes this situation from Trump’s summer deployment of the National Guard to Los Angeles, which occurred despite objections from Democratic California Governor Gavin Newsom and local authorities. Memphis Mayor Paul Young, a Democrat, indicated last week, following Trump’s commitment to dispatch the National Guard to the city, that he was “unequivocally displeased” with the deployment and that his office would “exert every effort to ensure its minimal effect on our populace.”
“We will no longer permit this brutality to devastate our county,” Trump declared, subsequent to enumerating crime statistics for Memphis.
A recent study determined that Memphis registered the highest murder and violent crime rates among major U.S. cities last year. The Memphis Police Department, however, reported last week that overall crime in the city is at an unprecedented 25-year low in 2025. Before Trump’s federal intervention, the Justice Department had also indicated that crime levels in the city were at a reduced level.
Trump has previously mentioned initiating federal enforcement actions in various other cities, such as Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, Baltimore, Oakland, and New Orleans. He signaled in late August that Chicago was “next,” leading city officials and inhabitants to prepare for a National Guard deployment, though he has not specified a timeline for sending troops there.
“We must proceed to safeguard our significant urban centers,” Trump stated on Monday.