Trump vows legal action against think tank over National Guard crime study

Donald Trump took to Truth Social to threaten legal action against the Center for American Progress after its associate director of public safety, Chandler Hall, asserted on C-Span that National Guard deployments have not affected violent crime rates. Trump dismissed the July 13 analysis as baseless, noting its estimate that continued Guard presence would cost taxpayers over $1.7 billion and that crime has supposedly declined under his administration.

He warned that a lawsuit is being drafted and that donors to the think tank, including George Soros, Bill and Melinda Gates, and several corporations, could also face suits. The post also cited an interview with a host at one outlet and White House border czar Tom Homan praising Trump’s crime-reduction record. Despite the criticism, roughly 4,600 Guard troops remain in Washington, D.C., projected to stay until the next presidential inauguration unless Trump ends the order early, with additional costs of at least $1.4 billion. The Make D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force reported over 16,000 arrests since last August, a figure highlighted by the White House.