Hello and welcome to the most recent updates in US politics. We start with the report that a small number of National Guard troops has started protecting federal property in the Greater Chicago region and assisting law enforcement in Memphis on Wednesday, as confirmed by authorities.
Deployment Details
An unit of 200 Texas Guard troops were operating in the Greater Chicago region, according to a representative for the US Northern Command, who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity in order to reveal mission specifics that have not been made public.
The military personnel are in the urban area to secure US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) buildings and other government properties and police officers, Northern Command said online.
The troops, along with about 300 from Illinois, had reached on Tuesday at a US Army Reserve Center in Elwood, approximately 90 kilometers southwest of Chicago. All five hundred personnel are under the military command and have been deployed for 60 days. The official wasn't able to quickly provide information about how the troops were armed.
Political Context
It comes as Donald Trump on Wednesday called for the jailing of Brandon Johnson, Chicago's city leader, and JB Pritzker, the Illinois governor, accusing them of failing to protect US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) personnel.
"The city's mayor should be in prison for failing to protect Ice Officers!" Trump wrote on Truth Social on Wednesday morning. "Governor Pritzker also!"
Both Johnson and Pritzker are Democrats. Trump's remarks come as state military forces have started deployment in the Greater Chicago region at the order of the federal administration, despite objections from state authorities, including the governor and mayor.
Additional Developments
- Donald Trump declared that the conflicting parties have accepted a tentative deal to cease hostilities in Gaza, and release captured individuals and detained persons.
- Reports about the Gaza agreement was applauded by Republican lawmakers, who urged Trump to be awarded the peace award this week, but received with greater caution by Arab-American communities.
- During White House event, Trump appeared not to recognize the term 'Habeas Corpus' and referred to his homeland security secretary. In May, Noem gave a highly incorrect explanation of the core legal principle that mandates that the authorities provide a official justification for detaining and imprisoning people.
- All of the witnesses who provided statements at the White House "political discussion" hosted by the administration on Wednesday were self-described independent journalists who might better be called political content creators. The content producers cover liberal demonstrations in a partisan fashion, more similar to opposition research than neutral journalism.
- Senate Republicans voted down a war powers resolution that would have limited Trump's authority to use deadly military force against suspected drug smugglers after opposition party tried to counter the government's extraordinary use of the armed forces to eliminate vessels in the Caribbean.
- During the White House "antifa roundtable" on Wednesday, at least a participant echoed Trump's inaccurate statement that large numbers of people have been killed by left-wing radicals in the Oregon city. The correct number of killings by political activists in Portland is: a single incident.
