Gov. Josh Shapiro says Pennsylvania is prepared should Trump decide to send National Guard to Philadelphia
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said the state has been making preparations in the event that President Trump decides to send National Guard troops to Philadelphia.
Although there is "no word that it is imminent," officials have been monitoring developments elsewhere in the country, Shapiro said on Tuesday during an unrelated event at Murrell Dobbins Career & Technical Education High School in North Philadelphia.
"Ever since the president made what I think is a wrongheaded decision to take the guard away from the governor and put them on the streets of Los Angeles, we are, have been preparing for such a thing to happen here in Philadelphia," Shapiro said.
The Pennsylvania governor did not provide any more details on what those preparations are.
The Trump administration has targeted Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., in recent months, sending in the National Guard in what it says is a necessary effort to reinforce immigration operations and reduce crime. On Tuesday, a federal judge ruled that Trump illegally deployed the National Guard during the Los Angeles protests against the administration's immigration crackdown.
The president on Tuesday said he would deploy the National Guard to Baltimore and Chicago as well. He didn't say when that will happen.
Before becoming the 48th governor of the commonwealth, Shapiro served as attorney general from 2017-2023. Prior to that, he was chair of the Board of Commissioners in Montgomery County from 2011-2017.
"I'm the former chief law enforcement officer of this commonwealth, and I understand what communities need to do to make people safe," Shapiro said. "As governor, we've invested millions of dollars in not only policing, but in community organizations that have helped bring down violent crime by 42%."
On Aug. 1, the governor's office said gun violence was down 42% across Pennsylvania since Shapiro took office. State officials added that violent crime had also declined nearly 12% in 2024 compared to 2022.
Philadelphia Police Department data reveals that year-to-date, overall violent crime is down 5.61% in the city. Homicides are down more than 18% and property crimes are also down year-to-date by more than 6%.
"Now is not a time to disrupt that with distrust, the way the president is doing in other communities," Shapiro said. "Now is the time for us to continue making the progress we're making here in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. I'm going to focus on that."