🔗 Share this article

Hello and welcome to the latest developments in US politics. We start with the report that a small number of National Guard troops has started protecting federal property in the Greater Chicago region and assisting law enforcement in Memphis on Wednesday, according to officials.

Troop Information

An unit of 200 Texas Guard troops were working in the Greater Chicago region, as stated by a spokesperson for the US Northern Command, who spoke to the news agency on condition of anonymity in order to discuss operational details that have not been officially released.

The military personnel are in the city to protect US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) buildings and other federal facilities and law enforcement personnel, Northern Command stated publicly.

The forces, along with about 300 from Illinois, had arrived Tuesday at a US Army Reserve Center in Elwood, approximately 90 kilometers southwest of Chicago. All 500 troops are under the military command and have been activated for two months. The spokesperson wasn't able to quickly provide details about how the troops were armed.

Political Context

It comes as Donald Trump on Wednesday called for the jailing of Brandon Johnson, Chicago's mayor, and JB Pritzker, the Illinois governor, accusing them of not protecting US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers.

"Chicago Mayor should be in prison for not protecting ICE personnel!" Trump posted on Truth Social on Wednesday morning. "The state governor also!"

Both Johnson and Pritzker are members of the Democratic party. Trump's comments coincide with state military forces have begun arriving in the Chicago area at the order of the Trump administration, despite objections from state authorities, including Pritzker and Johnson.

Other Updates

• The president announced that the conflicting parties have agreed to a provisional agreement to end the fighting in Gaza, and release captured individuals and Palestinian prisoners.
• News of the Middle East deal was praised by GOP legislators, who called on Trump to be given the Nobel Peace prize this week, but greeted with more trepidation by Arab-American communities.
• During presidential gathering, Trump appeared not to recognize the term 'Habeas Corpus' and deferred to his homeland security secretary. In May, the secretary gave a wildly inaccurate explanation of the fundamental legal concept that requires that the authorities provide a public reason for detaining and imprisoning people.
• All of the participants who contributed testimony at the White House "political discussion" organized by the administration on Wednesday were self-described independent journalists who might better be called political content creators. The content producers cover liberal demonstrations in a partisan fashion, more akin to opposition research than neutral journalism.
• Senate Republicans rejected a military authorization measure that would have limited Trump's ability to use deadly military force against suspected drug smugglers after opposition party tried to oppose the government's unprecedented deployment of the military to eliminate vessels in the Caribbean.
• During the White House "political discussion" on Wednesday, at least a participant repeated Trump's false claim that significant amounts of people have been killed by left-wing radicals in the Oregon city. The correct number of killings by political activists in Portland is: a single incident.