President Donald Trump on Monday said he is prepared to deploy National Guard troops to U.S. cities without a formal request from state leaders, singling out Chicago as a likely target. The president told reporters the Pentagon can move soldiers "anywhere" on less than 24-hours notice and later signed an executive order establishing a specialized "National Rapid Response Task Force" intended to quell crime nationwide. Illinois officials swiftly rejected the idea. "Mr. President, do not come to Chicago. You are neither wanted here nor needed here," Governor JB Pritzker said at a downtown news conference alongside Mayor Brandon Johnson and community leaders. Pritzker called the plan "unprecedented, illegal and un-American" and warned that any unilateral deployment would be met with court action by the state and its attorney general. Local leaders argued that the administration’s premise is outdated, citing FBI data showing murders in Chicago down 32 percent, shootings down 37 percent and robberies down 34 percent from a year ago. Johnson added that Chicago is "not in the top 25" U.S. cities for violent crime and urged Washington to release $800 million in violence-prevention funds he says were previously withheld. The clash sets up a test of federal authority to dispatch troops over state objections, a move legal scholars say would hinge on narrow statutory exceptions. While the White House insists the new task force strengthens public safety, Illinois officials framed the threat as a political power grab that could inflame tensions and undermine local policing efforts.