New York City authorities are preparing to deploy the National Guard to the city at the order of US President Donald Trump, Politico reports, citing its sources.
“According to several senior officials, a wide range of prominent New York City officials have been meeting behind the scenes for weeks to discuss Trump's possible deployment of the National Guard or other federal agents to New York City“, the report said.
According to the publication, Governor Kathy Hochul, concerned about Trump's possible response to the election of Zohran Mamdani as mayor of New York City, has created a virtual working group and held a series of meetings.
“Our goal is to prevent, and if we can't prevent, then hopefully we can delay,“ said Jackie Bray, director of the New York State Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.
Previously, Democratic socialist Mamdani won the mayoral election in New York City. He became the youngest mayor of this century and the first Muslim to hold the office. Mamdani has advocated for the creation of low-cost grocery stores, a rent freeze on some city housing, and the elimination of bus fares. US President Donald Trump called Mamdani a "communist" and threatened to cut off federal aid to New York.
In September, US President Donald Trump announced plans to deploy the National Guard to curb crime in New York, as well as in Chicago, Memphis and New Orleans.
Trump had previously transferred some law enforcement powers in Washington to the federal level, citing unprecedented crime levels in the city. The National Guard has been deployed in several locations under the temporary state of emergency.