President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday that called for the creation of a “quick reaction force” made up of National Guard troops available for “rapid nationwide deployment.”
Many of the details of this rapid response team’s operational design remain unknown, though it demonstrates the president’s willingness to deploy the National Guard for public safety concerns.
The executive order also called on Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to direct each state’s Army and National Guard to be trained to assist law enforcement in quelling civil disturbances.
In recent months, Trump has deployed the California and Washington, D.C. National Guards and is openly considering deploying them to Chicago. Trump was prompted to deploy the California National Guard to Los Angeles due to violent protests against the administration’s aggressive deportation efforts, while he deployed the D.C. National Guard to help local and federal law enforcement crack down on crime.
The president’s executive order also called on the D.C. National Guard to create and expand a specialized unit to focus on public safety.
Trump is in charge of the D.C. National Guard because the district is not a state, whereas the governor of each state controls the national guard of that state. Trump deployed the California National Guard, opposing Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.
Trump, at the press conference where he signed the order, said he’s open to deploying the National Guard to cities even without support from those governors.
The Pentagon is considering deploying to Chicago to stop crime, a mission similar to that of the D.C. National Guard. Trump has also said he’d consider sending the National Guard into Baltimore to help local law enforcement curb crime.
NATIONAL GUARD MEMBERS BEGIN CARRYING HANDGUNS AND RIFLES DURING DEPLOYMENT IN DC
“We go in, we will solve Chicago in one week,” Trump said, though he added, “I think until I get that request from [Gov. JB Pritzker (D-IL)], I’m not going to do anything about it.”
Hegseth approved the guard members in D.C. to carry their service weapons late last week. Several GOP-led states, including West Virginia, South Carolina, Ohio, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Tennessee, have sent members of their own National Guard to help with the D.C. mission.