President Trump said Tuesday that he’ll expand his use of the National Guard to an additional city to help combat crime and unrest, adding that an announcement could be imminent.
“We’re going to be announcing another city that we’re going to very shortly, working it out with the governor of a certain state [who] would love us to be there and the mayor of a certain city,” Mr. Trump told reporters.
“We’ll announce it probably tomorrow and it’s going to be something we will do like we did here,” Mr. Trump said, referencing his deployment of the National Guard to Washington to curb violent crime in the city.
Mr. Trump declined to identify the city where he might dispatch the National Guard, but in the past has referenced Baltimore, Chicago and Portland as potential places to ramp up enforcement.
However, it is unlikely any of those cities because their mayors and governors have vehemently opposed the use of the National Guard.
Lawmakers from Louisiana, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, have suggested New Orleans was an ideal candidate for the National Guard. It’s a blue island in a heavily red state. Louisiana’s Gov. Jeff Landry, is a Republican.
So far, Mr. Trump has dispatched the National Guard to two cities, Los Angeles and Washington. D.C.
In Los Angeles, Mr. Trump dispatched the guard and U.S. Marines earlier this year to subdue protests over immigration raids. About 300 National Guard troops remain in Los Angeles. A federal judge ruled last week that the military deployment is illegal, but the ruling is on appeal.
In Washington, where Mr. Trump has more authority over law enforcement, more than 2,200 National Guard troops were deployed last month to address crime. He also federalized the city’s police force to crack down on crime.
