Trump administration to send 300 National Guardsmen to Chicago despite objection

New York, Oct 5 (IANS) US Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker has said that despite his repeated rejections of federal mobilisation to Chicago, President Donald Trump will send in 300 National Guardsmen.

Pritzker said on social media on Saturday (local time) that the Trump administration gave him an ultimatum: "call up your troops, or we will."

"In the coming hours, the Trump Administration intends to federalise 300 members of the Illinois National Guard," the governor said.

"Amidst ongoing violent riots and lawlessness, local leaders like Pritzker have refused to step in to quell, President Trump has authorised 300 National Guardsmen to protect federal officers and assets," White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said in a statement issued on Saturday.

Pritzker's comments about the National Guard being federalised came amid continued clashes between immigration authorities and protesters in the Chicago area.

On Saturday morning, law enforcement patrolling in Chicago shot an unidentified "armed US citizen" who was allegedly on Homeland Security's radar, according to Noem.

Protests broke out in the city on Saturday, and armed border patrol agents deployed what appeared to be chemical irritants toward protesters, reports Xinhua news agency.

Over the last month, Trump has threatened to send the National Guard into several cities, particularly Democratic-run ones, to curb crime and bolster immigration enforcement agents.

He already deployed the National Guard to Washington, DC, in August.

Last week, the Trump administration also put on hold 2.1 billion US dollars in Chicago infrastructure projects against the backdrop of the federal government shutdown.

The assets were put on hold "to ensure funding is not flowing via race-based contracting," Russell Vought, the White House budget director, said on X.

The Department of Transportation (DOT) replied to Vought's post on X, saying that the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) Red Line Extension and the CTA Red and Purple Modernisation Program are under administrative review to determine whether any unconstitutional practices are occurring.

The move followed other Trump administration efforts to withhold funds from Democrat-led states and cities.

On Wednesday, Vought announced that the DOT was freezing $18 billion in federal funding for two major infrastructure projects in New York City.

On Thursday, the Department of Energy cancelled nearly $8 billion in funding for climate-related projects and other initiatives, largely in Democratic-led states.

--IANS

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