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President Donald Trump Monday directed Tennessee’s National Guard deployed to the Democratic-led city of Memphis, following similar actions in the District of Columbia that Trump has said were needed to tackle crime.
“We’re going to make Memphis safe again,” Trump said.
It’s the latest test of Trump’s presidential powers in using the U.S. military domestically, despite a law that bars soldiers from partaking in local law enforcement. Trump said his efforts in the district – using the National Guard – would be replicated in cities across the country.
In the Oval Office, flanked by Tennessee’s GOP Gov. Bill Lee and the state’s Republican U.S. senators, Bill Hagerty and Marsha Blackburn, the president signed a presidential memorandum to establish a “Memphis Safe Task Force” to address violent crime using federal law enforcement and agencies.
“We’re sending in the big force,” Trump said.
Multiple federal agencies
In addition to the National Guard, the task force will include the U.S. Marshals Service, FBI, Drug Enforcement Agency, Homeland Security Investigations and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. It’s unclear how many Guard members or members of federal law enforcement will be sent.
“This task force will be a replica of our extraordinarily successful efforts here, and you’ll see it’s a lot of the same thing,” Trump said of using the National Guard in the district.
It’s the first time Trump has sent the National Guard into a red state, after seizing control of the California National Guard from the state’s governor — a Democrat — for deployment in Los Angeles, and then sending Guard members to the district, another Democratic stronghold.
While homicide rates remain high in Memphis compared to the nation, murders overall from 2023 to 2024 have decreased by 14%, according to the most recent data from the Memphis Shelby Crime Commission.
The Memphis mayor’s office could not immediately be reached for comment.
Trump added that St. Louis, Missouri, could also see similar action.
Other cities
The dispatch of the National Guard to Tennessee comes after Trump has threatened to send troops to other cities including New Orleans; Portland, Oregon; and Chicago. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker pushed back and the president had backed off his threat, though he mentioned the city again on Monday.
Governors have control over their state National Guard except in rare circumstances where the president can seize control. Pritzker has repeatedly rejected the idea of sending the National Guard into Chicago.
“If we don’t have the governor’s help we’re doing it without him,” Trump said of Pritzker.
With Memphis, Lee welcomed the intervention and thanked Trump for directing federal resources to the city.
“We are very hopeful and excited about the prospect of moving that city forward,” Lee said.
by Ariana Figueroa, Tennessee Lookout
Tennessee Lookout is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Tennessee Lookout maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Holly McCall for questions: info@tennesseelookout.com.
