Dive Brief:
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President Donald Trump on Monday signed a memo establishing a Memphis Safe Task Force “to end street and violent crime” and planning for the mobilization of the National Guard “to support public safety and law enforcement operations.”
- Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, who joined Trump at the Oval Office to announce the task force Monday, said it will be led by the U.S. Marshals Service and “establishes strong coordination and shared resources between law enforcement agencies at all levels of government, including the Tennessee National Guard, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Drug Enforcement Agency, Tennessee Highway Patrol, Memphis Police Department, and others.”
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Memphis Mayor Paul Young said on X that he “did not ask for the National Guard” and doesn’t believe “it is the way to drive down crime.” Because the decision has already been made, he said, “my commitment is to work strategically to ensure this happens in a way that truly benefits and strengthens our community.”
Dive Insight:
Trump announced Friday that he was sending National Guard troops to Memphis, saying, “We’re gonna fix it just like we did Washington,” where a surge of federal law enforcement has been deployed since Aug. 11.
In a Truth Social post on Saturday, Trump wrote that “ONLY I CAN SAVE THEM” in reference to Memphis, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles, where he has sent in National Guard troops, and Chicago, where he has threatened to send in troops.
During a press conference Monday, Trump said the federal intervention in Memphis came at the request of Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, who will appoint the task force chair, posted on X that Trump “has restored law & order to DC” and said she was “proud to stand with him as he signed an order to do the same for another American city.”
“City by city, we will Make America Safe Again!” Bondi wrote.
Trump’s memo directs the task force to utilize the “strategies and principles of Federal, State, and local law enforcement coordination” deployed in Washington, D.C., to reduce crime, enforce federal immigration law, and facilitate recruitment, and retention and “enhancement of capabilities” of Memphis police officers.
The memo tasks U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth with requesting that Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee make Tennessee National Guard units available and directs him to coordinate with governors from other states to mobilize their National Guard troops if necessary.
Lee said he has authorized an additional surge of more than 100 Tennessee Highway Patrol troopers to support local law enforcement in Shelby County and obligated more than $40 million “to support local law enforcement agencies as they implement evidence-based programs, technologies and strategies to reduce crime.”
In a written statement released Thursday, Young said Memphis is “already making measurable progress in bringing down crime.”
“What we need most are financial resources for intervention and prevention, additional patrol officers, and case support to strengthen MPD’s investigations,” Young stated.
Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris said on X: “A federal occupation will only sow fear and confusion for residents.” In another post, he said that “armored vehicles designed to withstand bombings that don’t happen in Tennessee communities aren’t needed. They don’t bring peace. They bring war.”
Tami Sawyer, Shelby County general sessions court clerk, said during a Monday news conference that “no city in this country is the place for the National Guard unless there is an emergency, and we’re talking tornadoes and hurricanes and storms.”
“We cannot afford the National Guard to strain our resources,” Sawyer said. “I will be working with the county and calling on the commission and the mayor to issue resolutions which ensure that we are reimbursed for any use of our operations and any strain on our budget.”
