President Donald Trump has signed a presidential memorandum establishing the “Memphis Safe Task Force,” which will be “tasked with ending street and violent crime in Memphis to the greatest possible extent” in coordination with numerous federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, including the National Guard.
Trump made the announcement in the Oval Office on Monday, accompanied by Sens. Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty and Gov. Bill Lee. Notably. Neither Memphis Mayor Paul Young nor Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris, both Democrats, was in attendance.
Trump’s memorandum came days after the president announced his decision to deploy the guard, an expected move that sparked praise from Republicans and criticism from Democrats.
The deployment is the latest in what Lee called