Trump’s aggressive tactics force reckoning between local leaders and Washington

Washington: Denver Mayor Mike Johnston regularly games out responses to threats like destructive tornadoes or hazardous waste leaks. He’s added a new potential menace: the federal government.

When President Donald Trump deployed National Guard troops to some US cities last year over the objection of local leaders, Johnston said his tabletop exercises expanded to consider what might happen if federal officials took aim at Denver, which the Trump administration has sued for limiting cooperation on deportations. The city now prepares for the impact of federal activity on everything from access to schools and hospitals to interference with elections.

“We used to prepare for natural disasters,” Johnston, a Democrat, said in an interview. “Now we prepare for our own federal government.”

A half-dozen state and local officials from both major political parties over the past week described an increasingly hostile relationship with Washington. While there’s inherent tension between city, state and federal governments over power, politics and money, the current dynamic is unlike anything they’ve experienced, particularly after federal agents killed two US citizens in Minneapolis last month.