Gov. JB Pritzker (D-IL) said on Sunday that the Trump administration is surging Texas National Guard troops to Illinois and Oregon.
In a statement on Sunday night, Pritzker said President Donald Trump has ordered 400 troops from Texas to be deployed to those two states, as well as other undisclosed locations throughout the country. Pritzker also said he received no advance notice from the administration and heard about the deployment from the Illinois National Guard.
The Illinois governor, who has openly sparred with Trump for weeks over a potential National Guard deployment to Chicago, trashed the move as an “invasion.”
“We must now start calling this what it is: Trump’s Invasion. It started with federal agents, it will soon include deploying federalized members of the Illinois National Guard against our wishes, and it will now involve sending in another state’s military troops,” Pritzker said. “The brave men and women who serve in our national guards must not be used as political props. This is a moment where every American must speak up and help stop this madness.”
Pritzker also called on Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) to “withdraw any support for this decision and refuse to coordinate” with the Trump administration over the activation of his state’s National Guard.
“There is no reason a President should send military troops into a sovereign state without their knowledge, consent, or cooperation,” he added.
In response, Abbott said he “fully authorized” Trump’s decision “to ensure safety for federal officials.”
“You can either fully enforce protection for federal employees or get out of the way and let Texas Guard do it,” the Texas governor said in a statement.
Pritzker’s statement comes after Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) said Trump deployed 300 California National Guard members to Portland, Oregon after a judge blocked his earlier deployment.
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Newsom trashed the move as a way to circumvent the court ruling, calling it “appalling” and “un-American.”
Late Sunday night, California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced that the state would be joining Oregon’s lawsuit to block the deployment.