Democratic leaders in the United States are warning that President Donald Trump does not have the authority to deploy US troops to Chicago amid reports of administration plans to send National Guard soldiers to the Midwestern city.
Trump, a Republican, has said he would likely expand the deployment of federal forces to oversee policing in Washington, DC, to other cities, including Chicago. On Sunday, he also suggested the possibility of sending troops to Democratic-run Baltimore in Maryland.
Democratic House of Representatives Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries on Sunday denounced plans to deploy federal forces to Chicago. Crime rates, including murders, have declined in Chicago in the last year.
“There’s no basis, no authority for Donald Trump to potentially try to drop federal troops into the city of Chicago,” Jeffries told CNN.
The US Constitution gives the power of policing to the states.
The Washington Post reported on Saturday that the Pentagon has been drawing up plans for a potential troop deployment in Chicago for weeks.
JB Pritzker, the Democratic governor of Illinois, where Chicago is located, was quick to reject the push.
“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,” JB Pritzker said in a statement.
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