Trump Seeks Federal Forces and National Guard for Chicago, New York

President Donald Trump has escalated a high-profile push to send federal forces and National Guard troops to large U.S. cities he says are beset by crime, saying this week he may next “clean up” Chicago and New York after deploying forces to Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles. Trump made the comments at White House events and to reporters in recent days, promising rapid results and saying Republicans are working on a comprehensive crime bill with congressional leaders to back the effort.

Trump has taken a range of actions this month, including a temporary federal takeover of the Washington Metropolitan Police Department, deploying National Guard members to patrol D.C. streets, signing an executive order to expand the Defense Department role in domestic law enforcement and creating new National Guard units trained for public safety, and proposing the death penalty for murders in the capital. He has said the D.C. operations produced immediate safety gains, telling reporters the city was “safe” after 12 days and predicting he could eliminate crime in Chicago within a week.

His moves have drawn sharp pushback from Democratic city and state officials and legal challenges. Chicago...