President Donald Trump on Monday signed an order to deploy the National Guard to Memphis and said Chicago will likely be next in what he described as a federal crackdown on violent crime.
The White House announced a task force to oversee the operation that will include the National Guard, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration and other federal agencies. Trump said the effort was organized at the request of Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee and called it a "replica" of the approach used in Washington, D.C. He told reporters in the Oval Office that "we're going to be doing Chicago, probably next," adding "we're going to go big," and later saying "we'll get to St. Louis." Trump said the operation would "deploy the full power of federal law enforcement."
Trump made the announcement flanked by senior administration figures, including Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, Attorney General Pam Bondi and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, as well as Sens. Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty, both Republicans, were present. Memphis Mayor Paul Young, a Democrat, has publicly expressed opposition, saying last week he was "certainly not happy" about the deployment and would seek to limit its impact on the community.
The president tied the deployment to rising violence statistics in Memphis, saying, "We're not going to let this savagery destroy our county any more." A recent USA TODAY analysis found that among major U.S. cities, Memphis had the highest murder and violent-crime rates last year. Officials with the Memphis Police Department, however, said crime overall in the city was at a historic 25-year low in 2025.
Administrations of both parties have previously used federal personnel and resources to assist local law enforcement. Trump pointed to his prior actions in Washington and to deployments earlier this year to Los Angeles, where federal interventions occurred over the objections of California Gov. Gavin Newsom and local officials. The White House statement framed the Memphis mission as part of a broader push that Trump has discussed for months to send federal agents and forces to cities including Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, Baltimore, Oakland and New Orleans.
City and state officials said they were preparing for the potential of additional deployments after Trump indicated in late August that Chicago was next. Mayor and police leaders in some targeted cities have pushed back, citing concerns about federal involvement in local policing and civil liberties. The Justice Department previously said crime in Washington, D.C., was at a decades-low level before the administration's intervention there.
The task force announced Monday is intended to coordinate federal agencies' activities in Memphis, combining investigative, enforcement and support capabilities. Officials did not provide a detailed public timeline for the arrival of National Guard members or a comprehensive plan for how responsibilities would be shared with local law enforcement.
Republican state leaders' support for the Memphis deployment represents a contrast with earlier federal deployments this year that proceeded despite opposition from Democratic governors. The White House emphasized that the Memphis operation was undertaken at the governor's request.
Trump has not specified when or whether federal forces will be dispatched to Chicago or the other cities he has named. Local leaders in those jurisdictions continue to evaluate potential responses and to discuss coordination with federal officials.