Will Missouri send troops to help Trump’s DC crackdown? What Gov. Mike Kehoe said
Just days before three Republican governors deployed National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., Gov. Mike Kehoe downplayed the possibility of Missouri joining President Donald Trump’s sweeping anti-crime crackdown in the nation’s capital.
Kehoe, a Republican, told a gaggle of reporters on Thursday that while Missouri “stands ready to support,” Trump had not asked him to send National Guard troops to D.C.
“The way our guard is set up, the mission probably doesn’t suit what they need up there,” Kehoe said in response to a question at the Missouri State Fair in Sedalia. “And I think there will be plenty of units closer that can help the President if needed.”
Kehoe’s comments came before a trio of Republican-led states, Ohio, South Carolina and West Virginia, announced over the weekend they would be sending hundreds of troops to D.C at the request of Trump. The Republican president last week announced a federal takeover of the District’s police and deployed National Guard troops in a purported attempt to crack down on crime.
In response to a follow-up question from The Star on Monday, Kehoe spokesperson Gabby Picard reiterated that “Missouri has not received any requests to send Missouri National Guard to D.C.”
The comments from Kehoe are noteworthy and come as the Republican governor has regularly touted his close ties with law enforcement and with the Trump administration, which could leave open the possibility of Trump requesting resources or troops from Missouri.
While the Trump administration has not requested assistance from Missouri, the Republican president’s focus on crime in D.C. echoes some of Kehoe’s tough-on-crime campaign promises in Missouri. A supporter of the state control makeup of the Kansas City Police Department, Kehoe recently signed into law legislation that placed St. Louis police under state control.
The Republican governor also recently faced criticism for activating the Missouri National Guard ahead of anti-Trump protests over the summer. While the protests were peaceful, Kehoe also declared a preemptive “state of emergency” and then left the country for a trade mission trip in France.
Missouri has also taken steps in recent years to send law enforcement officials outside state lines.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol last summer sent 30 troopers to the Republican National Convention in Wisconsin, a move that sparked criticism from some legislators as the agency struggled with vacancies.
The patrol’s presence at the RNC came at the request of Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat who issued an emergency declaration for assistance. The Kansas City Police Department also sent 30 officers to the RNC at the request of the Milwaukee Police Department.
Earlier in 2024, Kehoe’s predecessor as governor, Gov. Mike Parson, signed an executive order sending up to 200 National Guard members and 22 highway patrol troopers to the Texas border with Mexico as Republicans attacked then-President Joe Biden’s administration for its handling of immigration.
Parson allowed the order to expire last June, touting the deployment as a “success.”
