The gloves came off in Washington Tuesday morning when Attorney General Pam Bondi unleashed a scathing rebuke of Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) during a tense Senate hearing on federal intervention in Chicago. The topic: President Donald Trump’s controversial decision to deploy Texas National Guard units to the Windy City amid rising clashes between ICE agents and increasingly aggressive protesters.
Durbin, a veteran Senate Democrat, challenged the move as unnecessary federal overreach, invoking the White House’s confirmation that National Guard troops from Texas were being sent into Illinois. But before he could frame the narrative, Bondi fired back — and she did not hold back.
.@AGPamBondi TORCHES @SenatorDurbin:
“I wish you loved Chicago as much as you hate President Trump…The National Guard are on the way to Chicago. If you’re not going to protect your citizens, President Trump will.” pic.twitter.com/zHIvLYkWmm
— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) October 7, 2025
“Chairman, as you shut down the government, you voted to shut down the government and you’re sitting here, our law enforcement officers aren’t being paid, they’re out there working to protect you,” Bondi said sharply. “I wish you loved Chicago as much as you hate President Trump.”
The clash wasn’t just personal — it was policy-centered and emotionally charged. As Durbin questioned the rationale for troop deployments, Bondi countered with hard numbers and a deeper indictment of Chicago’s failure to curb violent crime.
“Your city has a murder rate five times higher than New York’s — 571 homicides last year,” she pointed out. “If you were serious about protecting your people, you would be asking this administration for help.”
“Your city has a murder rate five times higher than New. York’s — 571 homicides last year,” says @AGPamBondi to the insufferable @SenatorDurbin on the National Guard in Chicago.
“We’re there to help make America safe and Illinois safe — whether or not you want to.” pic.twitter.com/qgbZIryITP
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) October 7, 2025
Her comments came amid a broader national conversation about the limits of federal authority, the use of military resources in civilian spaces, and the ongoing political divide between Trump’s administration and left-leaning urban leadership. Chicago — with its sanctuary city policies, vocal defiance of ICE, and Democratic political establishment — has become the epicenter of that friction.
Bondi zeroed in on the contradiction she sees: local leaders refusing federal support while crime surges and federal officers are targeted. “You’re saying that we’re coming into your state and your city?” she asked. “We’re there to help make America safe and Illinois safe — whether or not you want to.”
