The Pentagon has been drawing up contingency plans to deploy National Guard troops to Chicago at the direction of President Donald Trump, according to officials cited by the Washington Post and CBS. The mission, first discussed weeks ago, would mirror the federal operation now under way in Washington, D.C., where more than 2,200 Guardsmen are patrolling city streets. No final troop numbers or start date for Chicago have been announced, but people familiar with the planning said several thousand personnel could be mobilised if the White House signs off. Chicago’s Democratic leadership is preparing to fight the move. Mayor Brandon Johnson called the prospect of a deployment “unconstitutional” and said the city is reviewing legal options with Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and the state’s attorney general. Johnson pointed to police data showing murders down 31 %, shootings down 36 % and vehicle thefts down 26 % from a year earlier, arguing that the city does not require a military presence. The Chicago plan extends a broader crime-fighting campaign that began with Trump’s August takeover of public-safety operations in the nation’s capital. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth last week authorised certain Guard units in Washington to carry handguns and rifles; the Justice Department says more than 700 arrests have been made since 11 August. Trump has also widened his focus to Baltimore, threatening to send troops to Maryland and to “rethink” federal money pledged for rebuilding the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge. In a public spat, he questioned Governor Wes Moore’s military record, while Moore countered that Baltimore homicides fell 24 % last year and invited the president to walk the city’s streets instead of deploying soldiers.