Daijiworld Media Network – Washington

Washington, Aug 24: The Pentagon is drafting plans to deploy US troops to Chicago, after President Donald Trump vowed to crack down on crime, homelessness, and undocumented immigration, the Washington Post reported on Saturday.

The proposal, under discussion for weeks, includes mobilizing several thousand National Guard members as early as September, officials told the newspaper. “Chicago is a mess,” Trump said Friday, blasting the city’s Democratic leadership. “And we’ll straighten that one out probably next.”

The Pentagon issued a guarded response, saying it would not speculate on further operations but confirmed it was “continuously working with other agency partners on plans to protect federal assets and personnel.”

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker strongly rejected the idea, calling it a manufactured crisis. “Donald Trump is attempting to politicize Americans who serve in uniform and abuse his power,” he said, stressing that the state had received no federal request for help.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson also voiced “grave concerns” over any unauthorized troop deployment, pointing out that homicides, robberies and shootings have all fallen sharply in the past year.

The move echoes Trump’s earlier orders deploying Marines and National Guard units to Los Angeles against the wishes of California’s governor, and his recent push to send troops to Washington DC, despite data showing violent crime there is at a 30-year low.