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Welcome back to Foreign Policy<\/em>\u2019s Situation Report, where we have some exciting personnel news to start with: Rachel Oswald<\/a> has joined our news team! Rachel comes to FP from CQ Roll Call<\/em>, where she spent more than a decade covering foreign policy on Capitol Hill, and we\u2019re already geeking out with her on all things geopolitics.<\/p>\n Alright, here\u2019s what\u2019s on tap for the day: U.S. President Donald Trump<\/strong> escalates military deployments <\/strong>in more U.S. cities, announces a triumphant but still tenuous Israel-Hamas cease-fire deal<\/strong>, and threatens to deny back pay<\/strong> to federal workers impacted by the government shutdown<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Welcome back to Foreign Policy<\/em>\u2019s Situation Report, where we have some exciting personnel news to start with: Rachel Oswald<\/a> has joined our news team! Rachel comes to FP from CQ Roll Call<\/em>, where she spent more than a decade covering foreign policy on Capitol Hill, and we\u2019re already geeking out with her on all things geopolitics.<\/p>\n Alright, here\u2019s what\u2019s on tap for the day: U.S. President Donald Trump<\/strong> escalates military deployments <\/strong>in more U.S. cities, announces a triumphant but still tenuous Israel-Hamas cease-fire deal<\/strong>, and threatens to deny back pay<\/strong> to federal workers impacted by the government shutdown<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Trump significantly escalated his domestic deployment of U.S. military forces this week, sending hundreds of troops<\/a> to Chicago despite extremely vocal opposition from the city\u2019s mayor, Brandon Johnson, as well as Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker. (Trump, in turn, has called for both leaders<\/a> to be jailed.)<\/p>\n It\u2019s the fifth such deployment in just 10 months of Trump\u2019s second term in office, heightening concerns about creeping authoritarianism and politicization of the military. Most of the deployments have been challenged in the courts.<\/p>\n Trump has claimed he\u2019s fighting a \u201cwar from within<\/a>,\u201d justifying the deployments with tenuous assertions of out-of-control crime and \u201crebellion.\u201d<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what you need to know.<\/p>\n Los Angeles: <\/strong>The largest city in California\u2014a state whose governor, Gavin Newsom, Trump has repeatedly clashed with\u2014became the first U.S. city to see National Guard and Marine troops on its streets in June. They were sent in to quell protests against Trump\u2019s immigration actions. A federal judge in September deemed those deployments illegal<\/a>, a decision the Trump administration has appealed.<\/p>\n Washington, D.C.: <\/strong>Trump activated the National Guard in the U.S. capital in August, claiming they were needed to address violent crime in the city despite data showing it to be at its lowest level in three decades. While the D.C. National Guard is automatically under federal control, the troops there have seemingly spent more time mulching cherry trees and cleaning up garbage<\/a> than fighting crime. There\u2019s also an ongoing legal challenge<\/a> to this deployment.<\/p>\n Memphis, Tennessee: <\/strong>This is the only deployment so far where the state\u2019s governor supports the move. Republican Gov. Bill Lee said<\/a> he was \u201cgrateful\u201d for Trump\u2019s announcement of National Guard troops in mid-September to \u201ccombat crime\u201d in Memphis. Most of those troops are reportedly<\/a> yet to arrive, however, and are expected in the city on Friday.<\/p>\n Portland, Oregon: <\/strong>Trump\u2019s decision to send troops to Portland\u2014which he outlined in a Sept. 27 Truth Social post<\/a> describing the city as \u201cWar ravaged\u201d\u2014was sparked by protests outside a local facility run by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the agency executing Trump\u2019s aggressive deportation policy. A federal judge this week blocked<\/a> that deployment, as well as Trump\u2019s efforts to reassign National Guard troops from other states such as California and Texas to Portland.<\/p>\n Chicago: <\/strong>As noted above, Trump has deployed Texas National Guard troops to Chicago. Court hearings on the legality of that deployment as well as the one in Portland took place on Thursday.<\/p>\n Trump has mused about sending U.S. troops to several<\/a> other<\/a> Democratic-run cities<\/a>, including his native New York<\/strong> as well as San Francisco<\/strong>, Baltimore<\/strong>, and New Orleans<\/strong>.<\/p>\n The White House is also now weighing whether to invoke the Insurrection Act, which allows presidents greater control over the military to quell domestic rebellion. This would be a rare and extreme step, as the law has only been invoked 30 times in 230 years<\/a>. The last time was under President George H.W. Bush during the 1992 Los Angeles riots.<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s unprecedented and expanding effort to deploy troops in multiple U.S. cities is having rippling consequences and has the potential to set precedents that could impact generations to come. Critics contend that Trump is manufacturing crises and politicizing the military in dangerous ways that could undermine national security.<\/p>\n Retired military leaders have expressed serious concerns<\/a> that the deployments are hurting troop readiness, damaging the relationship between the military and public, and could impact recruitment<\/a>. Polling<\/a> shows that the administration\u2019s deployment of National Guard troops in major U.S. cities is unpopular among voters. Some Republican lawmakers<\/a> are also now beginning to express reservations over the deployments.<\/p>\n As the U.S. federal government shutdown drags on into its second week, the Trump administration is now threatening to deny back pay<\/a> to the roughly 750,000 federal workers who have been furloughed, in contravention of a law that Trump himself signed during his first term in 2019. The uncertainty could further dent workforce morale and make the United States potentially vulnerable abroad, former State Department spokesperson and CIA analyst Ned Price told Rishi last week. You can read more from Price and others about the foreign-policy impact of the shutdown here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Separately, the Washington Post <\/em>reports<\/a> that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth\u2019s sweeping investigation into criticism of the recently slain right-wing activist Charlie Kirk<\/a> has impacted some 300 Defense Department employees, even as the department forges ahead with controversial restrictions<\/a> on the Pentagon press corps.<\/p>\n What should be high on your radar, if it isn\u2019t already.<\/em><\/p>\n Gaza peace deal. <\/strong>Trump announced in a Truth Social post<\/a> on Wednesday that Israel and Hamas had agreed to the first phase of a deal to end the two-year war in Gaza. Under the deal, Israel will withdraw its troops from parts of the territory to a stipulated line and release nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, while Hamas will release the remaining 48 hostages it has in its custody, of whom 20 are believed to be alive. Trump said<\/a> the release is expected to take place \u201cMonday or Tuesday,\u201d and that he will \u201ctry and make a trip over\u201d to the region in the coming days.<\/p>\n While all parties appear to be on the same page for now, several questions<\/a>\u2014and opportunities for the broader deal to fall apart\u2014remain, including<\/a> whether Hamas will agree to disarm, who will govern postwar Gaza, and whether Palestinian statehood will be on the table.<\/p>\nA \u2018War From Within\u2019<\/h3>\n
Where It\u2019s Happening<\/h4>\n
Where Else Trump Wants Them<\/h4>\n
Why It Matters<\/h4>\n
Let\u2019s Get Personnel<\/h3>\n
On the Button<\/h3>\n