What happened
President Donald Trump Monday ordered Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to create a new "specialized" National Guard unit "dedicated to ensuring public safety and order" in Washington, D.C., and to ensure that every state's Guard is prepared to take a larger role in domestic law enforcement, including "quelling civil disturbances." Trump also called for a standing National Guard "quick reaction force" that could deploy anywhere in the U.S. on short notice.
Who said what
Creating these new National Guard units is the "clearest sign yet" that Trump intends to "expand the U.S. military's role in domestic law enforcement activities across the country," potentially for "political purposes," said CNN. The expansion of military policing comes as Trump "threatens to broaden deployments of the National Guard in cities run by his political enemies," starting with Chicago, The New York Times said.
Using the National Guard as police in states that don't want such deployments is "illegal," "unconstitutional," "un-American" and "exactly the type of overreach that our country’s founders warned against," Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) said Monday. "If it sounds to you like I am alarmist, that is because I am ringing an alarm."
What next?
Asked about his suggestion that he would send troops to Chicago, Trump "hedged," the Times said. "We may wait," he told reporters. "We may or may not, we may just go in and do it, which is probably what we should do." The Pentagon said it was "reviewing" Trump's orders and "specific requirements" and "will provide updates or announcements as appropriate."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Jaguar Land Rover’s cyber bailoutTalking Point Should the government do more to protect business from the ‘cyber shockwave’?
-
Russia: already at war with Europe?Talking Point As Kremlin begins ‘cranking up attacks’ on Ukraine’s European allies, questions about future action remain unanswered
-
Sudoku hard: October 5, 2025The Week's daily hard sudoku puzzle
-
Russia: already at war with Europe?
Talking Point As Kremlin begins ‘cranking up attacks’ on Ukraine’s European allies, questions about future action remain unanswered
-
Museum head ousted after Trump sword gift denialSpeed Read Todd Arrington, who led the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, denied the Trump administration a sword from the collection as a gift for King Charles
-
Trump declares ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartelsspeed read This provides a legal justification for recent lethal military strikes on three alleged drug trafficking boats
-
Supreme Court rules for Fed’s Cook in Trump feudSpeed Read Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook can remain in her role following Trump’s attempts to oust her
-
‘This isn’t just semantics’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Miami Freedom Tower’s MAGA library squeezeTHE EXPLAINER Plans to place Donald Trump’s presidential library next to an iconic symbol of Florida’s Cuban immigrant community has South Florida divided
-
Judge rules Trump illegally targeted Gaza protestersSpeed Read The Trump administration’s push to arrest and deport international students for supporting Palestine is deemed illegal
-
Trump: US cities should be military ‘training grounds’Speed Read In a hastily assembled summit, Trump said he wants the military to fight the ‘enemy within’ the US
