FILE PHOTO: llinois Governor J.B. Pritzker speaks near Texas State Rep. Trey Martinez as Democratic lawmakers from Texas hold a press conference, after they had left their state to deny Republicans the quorum needed to redraw the state's 38 congressional districts, in Carol Stream, Illinois, U.S. August 3, 2025. REUTERS/Tom Krawczyk/File Photo

More than a dozen Democratic governors have formally denounced President Donald Trump’s declared intent to deploy National Guard units into major cities, including Chicago, Baltimore, and New York without jurisdictional consent.

In a joint statement released Thursday, the 19 Democrats called the proposal a direct affront to state sovereignty, describing it as an “alarming abuse of power.” The New York Times noted that a joint statement from 19 different governors is "rare."

They wrote, “Instead of actually addressing crime, President Trump cut federal funding for law enforcement that states rely on and continues to politicize our military by trying to undermine the executive authority of governors as commanders in chief of their state’s National Guard.”

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They added, “Whether it’s Illinois, Maryland and New York or another state tomorrow, the president’s threats and efforts to deploy a state’s National Guard without the request and consent of that state’s governor is an alarming abuse of power, ineffective, and undermines the mission of our service members. This chaotic federal interference in our states’ National Guard must come to an end.”

Signatories include Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, Maryland Governor Wes Moore, New York Governor Kathy Hochul, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear and all but four Democratic governors — those in Arizona, Connecticut, Hawaii, and Minnesota.

On Wednesday, Trump said during a press briefing that he had “the right to do anything I want to do” regarding the National Guard.

Democratic governors in blue states — most notably Governor Pritzker — have strongly opposed the idea that Trump could send troops to other cities as he did in Washington, D.C., where he relied on dubious crime statistics to justify federal policing.

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At a news conference earlier this week, Pritzker warned Trump not to involve the military in Chicago. He highlighted that eight of the ten states with the highest homicide rates are under Republican leadership. Over the weekend, Trump and Governor Moore publicly clashed on social media over crime in Baltimore.

The Illinois governor said, “Mr. President, do not come to Chicago. You are neither wanted here nor needed here.”

He continued, “Your remarks about this effort over the last several weeks have betrayed a continuing slip in your mental faculties and are not fit for the auspicious office that you occupy.”

He added that Trump’s plan is “unprecedented,” “unwarranted,” “illegal,” “unconstitutional" and “un‑American.”

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Meanwhile, Chicago officials and the Police Department are reportedly dusting off the response strategy amid threat of a federal troop deployment hanging over the city. Politico reported Thursday that this plan was originally developed during last year’s Democratic National Convention.

Mayor Brandon Johnson told reporters Thursday that the Trump administration has provided no information about whether or when National Guard troops might arrive in Chicago, so city leadership is leaning on the same “playbook” used to manage the influx of roughly 50,000 individuals, including demonstrators, who converged on the city during the convention.