President Donald Trump signed an order deploying National Guard troops to Memphis, Tenn., on Monday.
The president’s ability to deploy the National Guard is strictly limited by the Constitution. However, Trump has been pushing against those limits to his authority in his second term, deploying troops to Los Angeles amid a widespread backlash to Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids and threatening similar measures in major, Democrat-led cities.
Trump took control of the police force in Washington, D.C., and deployed the district’s National Guard troops in response to a supposed surge in violent crime in the capital. D.C.’s unique status meant that Trump was well within his rights to do so. The Memphis move is Trump’s first attempt to expand the strategy outside of the capital.
“This task force will be a replica of our extraordinarily successful efforts here [in D.C.],” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “And, you’ll see it’s a lot of the same thing.”
Trump’s memorandum was light on details, providing no indication of when the troops would deploy in Memphis or what they would do once they arrive. Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee was at the White House for the signing, seemingly giving his blessing for the incursion of federal troops.
“In 2024, Memphis had the highest violent crime rate, the highest property crime rate, and the third highest murder rate of any city in the nation. Other than that, they are doing quite well, thank you,” Trump said.
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Trump touted the work the Guard would do when they joined a federal task force that includes the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration and ICE.
“This team will deploy the full powers of federal law enforcement agencies and enforcement generally to restore public safety and to get dangerous career criminals off of our streets. We will get them off,” Trump said.
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