As the Donald Trump administration, which has been waging a "war on crime" since last summer, grows more likely to deploy the National Guard to New York state, New York has begun joining hands with Wall Street heavyweights to stop it.
On the 17th (local time), the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported, "New York state officials and Wall Street executives are working together to prevent a federal takeover of New York," adding, "They are trying to persuade President Trump that large-scale law enforcement crackdowns would negatively affect the local economy and corporate activity."
New York has spent recent months watching Trump deploy National Guard troops, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, and soldiers to other cities in succession, and has prepared for the possibility of similar measures in New York. Citing crime control as a justification, Trump has deployed the National Guard to Los Angeles (LA), Memphis, and Washington.
Since August, Trump has already singled out New York, along with Washington and Chicago, as cities where the Guard should be sent to suppress crime. His claim is that crime rates are high in these Democratic-led cities. During the New York mayoral race, he also warned Democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani, saying, "If he becomes mayor, I will minimize federal funding for New York City and deploy the National Guard."
Earlier, the U.S. political outlet Politico reported that New York Gov. Kathy Hochul invited the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the regional chapter of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), and the grassroots coalition network "Indivisible" to the governor's office to discuss the Guard deployment issue. Politico said Hochul at the time appealed to these groups to help ensure that no violence or property damage occurs that could serve as a pretext for deploying the National Guard.
New York appears to have taken San Francisco's case as a model. San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie, along with chief executive officers (CEOs) of major Silicon Valley corporations such as Nvidia's Jensen Huang and Salesforce, Inc.'s Marc Benioff, sent texts and made calls to President Trump, urging that deploying the National Guard would seriously damage local corporations and have ripple effects across the national economy.
As a result, Trump, who had said the federal government was preparing a "massive troop deployment" to San Francisco, said, "Friends who live in that area called me last night and asked me not to move forward with the plan," and put the Guard deployment decision on hold. At the time, the WSJ reported, "Multiple local businesspeople who requested anonymity also contacted Vice President JD Vance, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, and David Sacks, the special adviser for artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency."
Jackie Bray, Administrator of the New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services, said an approach similar to San Francisco's is gaining broad support across New York industry. Bray said, "There is a very broad consensus that such measures would harm New York," adding, "Deploying the National Guard would not ensure the safety of New Yorkers and would also hurt residents, including immigrant communities, as well as economic productivity."
Kathryn Wylde, CEO of the business group Partnership for New York City, whose members include JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, and Google, said, "Leaders in the finance and real estate industries agree that they will play a key role in persuading Trump to block the deployment of the National Guard to New York City."
However, New York's campaign to block a National Guard deployment remains in its early stages. That is because there have been no signs that federal intervention is imminent. The WSJ reported that the New York state government has not yet asked corporate leaders to reach out to President Trump directly.