# Trump sends National Guard to Memphis after federal crime push expands

The president said the new Memphis Safe Task Force would mirror his Washington, D.C., operation and bring federal law-enforcement agencies into the city.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on the event date that he would send the National Guard and other federal law-enforcement resources to Memphis, Tennessee, in what he described as a campaign to “combat crimes” in the city.

Speaking in the Oval Office alongside Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, Trump said he would sign a memorandum creating what he called the “Memphis Safe Task Force.” He framed the effort as a direct follow-on to the federal deployment and patrol operation he has used in Washington, D.C. over the previous month. In his account, the Memphis mission would be a “replica” of those efforts and would use federal agencies to help “restore public safety.”

The Independent reported that the federal role would include the National Guard, the FBI, the ATF, the DEA, ICE, Homeland Security Investigations and the U.S. Marshals Service, with Attorney General Pam Bondi said to lead the task force. Trump said the goal was to target “dangerous career criminals” and emphasized the use of broad federal powers rather than a narrower policing role.

The move also highlighted the political geography of the deployment. Memphis is in a Republican-run state, while its municipal government is led by Democrats. That matters because the Tennessee governor controls the state National Guard unless it is being used for federal purposes. The report said the arrangement avoids the sharper legal and constitutional confrontation Trump has faced while threatening to send troops into Chicago, where Illinois Governor JB Pritzker has said he would resist any attempt to use the state guard.

Trump has nonetheless continued to say he may next target Chicago, and he also mentioned St. Louis and New Orleans as possible future destinations. The Memphis announcement therefore extends a wider federal-law-and-order campaign that is now being tested not just in Washington but in other major U.S. cities.

The announcement also signals how Trump is choosing to package federal intervention. By pairing the National Guard with agencies such as the FBI, ATF and DEA, the White House is presenting the Memphis move as more than a symbolic military gesture. It is being framed as a broad law-enforcement surge with Bondi at the center, which suggests the administration wants visible federal coordination rather than a narrow show of force.

The remaining question is whether the task force will be judged by its immediate footprint or by any measurable effect on street crime. The packet does not include local reaction, deployment timing or operational specifics, so those details remain open. What can be verified is that Trump has now moved from threat to action in a second city, and Memphis is the latest test case for his law-and-order approach.