Photograph by John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout ©2025
Shelby County lawmakers torn over National Guard deployment to Memphis
Tennessee lawmakers representing Shelby County are running into a partisan split over the looming deployment of National Guard troops to Memphis.
Democrats are generally opposing the plan by Gov. Bill Lee and President Donald Trump to send soldiers into the city as part of a “comprehensive mission,” but even some of those legislators are taking different tones.
Republicans, in contrast, are supporting the move, even though it is short on details.
Trump also announced Monday he will be send more federal agencies into Memphis to focus on crime. Gov. Bill Lee was meeting with him at the White House to work on details.
Sen. Paul Rose, a Covington Republican whose district takes in the northeast block of Shelby County, said Monday he favors the deployment, though he didn’t know how it would be carried out.
Rose couldn’t address whether putting troops on city streets could desensitize residents to a military presence but said troops on the streets of Israel made him feel safer during a trip there.
He’s hoping it turns out similarly to the deployment of National Guard soldiers to Washington, D.C., where Trump said there is “virtually no crime,” according to news reports.
“I applaud the governor sending them in. For those that maybe don’t get shot or robbed or whatever, they’re going to certainly be thankful that intervention was there,” Rose said.
Rose had no indication of what troops would do in Memphis or how long they might be there, though he added that he would support their presence as long as it takes to quell gang activity in the city.
House Speaker Cameron Sexton said last week troops are needed as part of a “quick strike” force combining federal and state authorities to cut down on crime caused by some 100 gangs.
Washington, D.C. Police reported overall violent crime dipped to 75 incidents from Aug. 12-26 when troops were sent in, compared to 98 from July 28 to Aug, according to a BBC report. 11. Homicides decreased to two from six, robberies fell to 31 from 51 in that period, and assaults with a deadly weapon dropped to 37 from 41.
Conflict between the president and Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser, though, resurfaced again Monday when, after the temporary emergency measure ended, she said local police would no longer take up immigration enforcement.
Trump responded by saying he would declare an emergency and federalize the District of Columbia force again. That came after he said last week that troops would go to Shelby County.
Democratic state Rep. Jesse Chism, chairman of the Tennessee Black Caucus of State Legislators, said he is “very concerned” about the plan to send troops into Memphis.
“I believe we risk undermining the progress our police department is already making. Sending troops into Memphis now could rip the scab off of a wound that is just beginning to heal and only increases the possibility of unintended consequences,” Chism said.
Chism added that elected leaders in Memphis and Shelby County aren’t “happy” about the planned deployment, as Trump said in a social media post.
Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris criticized the move while Memphis Mayor Paul Young was resigned to the situation.
Democratic state Rep. Antonio Parkinson appeared to take a view similar to Young, saying Monday morning on CNN that the arrangement was made between Lee and Trump, without the input of local leaders. Yet he tried to put a positive spin on the matter.
“The thing you have to understand about Memphis is this … no matter what you throw at Memphis, Memphis will make the best of it,” Parkinson said in the interview. “Memphis is known for taking the most sour lemons you can give them and making the best tasting lemonade ever served. That is just who Memphis is.”
Parkinson encouraged Memphis residents to view troops’ presence as a chance to deal with longstanding problems instead of an “occupying force.”
Memphis lawmakers such as Democratic Sens. London Lamar and Raumesh Akbari expressed dismay that troops could be patrolling city streets, saying a police report showed a 15% crime decrease over the past year.
Republican Sen. Brent Taylor of Shelby County and Rep. John Gillespie of Memphis questioned the validity of the crime report and said it should be audited.
Last week, Lee said he wants to speed up the “positive momentum” of the FBI mission, Operation Viper, with other agencies that led to the arrest of hundreds of violent offenders.
The governor reportedly canceled a Nashville Rotary Club appearance Monday to continue talks with the Trump administration about the Memphis deployment.
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