Trump will federalize 300 Illinois National Guard members

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said in a statement on Saturday that the Trump administration intends to federalize 300 Illinois National Guard members after he was offered an ultimatum on troop deployment.

“This morning, the Trump Administration’s Department of War gave me an ultimatum: call up your troops, or we will,” he said. The White House later confirmed the plans. 

“Amidst ongoing violent riots and lawlessness, that local leaders like Pritzker have refused to step in to quell, President Trump has authorized 300 national guardsmen to protect federal officers and assets,” Abigail Jackson, a White House spokeswoman, told CBS News in a statement. “President Trump will not turn a blind eye to the lawlessness plaguing American cities.”

This comes amid clashes between protesters and federal agents in Broadview, Illinois, where, within the past couple of weeks, over a dozen protesters were arrested, including seven on Friday.

On Friday, the Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and U.S. Border Patrol official Greg Bovino were in Chicago overseeing ICE operations. On Tuesday, Pritzker said the Trump administration was seeking to deploy 100 troops to protect ICE in Illinois.

Normally, the Illinois governor would be the commander in chief of the state’s National Guard. But federalizing the guard will change that. Crime has been a major problem in America’s cities, which the Trump administration has looked to address by sending in troops.

The Democrat leaders of these cities, trying to appeal to their left wing base, have tried to resist this. How much power the Trump administration has in these cities is a bit murky, but it seems both sides think that tis is an issue to go all in on. We will see what the American public thinks.