White House calls Brandon Johnson's reparations push unconstitutional and urges focus on Chicago crime The White House criticized Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson's advocacy for reparations, calling race-based government payments unconstitutional and urging him to focus on public safety. Johnson accused President Donald Trump of shifting wealth to the ultrarich while neglecting descendants of enslaved Black Americans. The White House on Wednesday called Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson's reparations push divisive and unconstitutional, saying the city would be better served if he focused on lowering its homicide rate. Johnson has accused President Donald Trump of favoring wealthy Americans while neglecting the demands of descendants of formerly enslaved Black people. A White House spokesperson told Fox News Digital that government programs distributing money based on race are illegal. The spokesperson urged Johnson to prioritize Chicago's homicide rate rather than advocate for what the administration described as unconstitutional government action. Johnson made his remarks during an interview with Angela Rye, Bakari Sellers and Andrew Gillum.Johnson Argues Public Safety Needs More Than PolicingHe argued that public safety 'has to be something more than just policing,' citing city investments in mental and behavioral health care, promoting detectives, and expanding community violence intervention, known as CVI. The mayor said Trump had delivered the 'largest upward transfer of wealth' to the ultrarich at the expense of formerly enslaved people's descendants.Johnson called the president's position disingenuous and said the transfer came at the expense of education, housing, health care, transportation and good-paying jobs, which he described as demands of the formerly enslaved. Trump had called Chicago's crime situation an 'unprecedented and particularly violent crime wave' in an Oct. 6 post. He said the federal government could extinguish it quickly and completely, but that Chicago's mayor or Illinois' governor had to ask for help.Trump asked why they were not requesting assistance and wrote that time was of the essence. Johnson also accused Trump of cutting the violence-prevention budget by $800 million and said the president was concerned about the wrong borders as illegal weapons entered Chicago. Johnson said Trump cut the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives budget by 30%. Johnson said Chicago police had worked with the ATF to remove illegal weapons from city streets.White House Ignores Crime Figures in ResponseHe said almost 9,000 illegal weapons had been removed during the year. The White House response did not address those figures, instead directing attention to the city's homicide rate. A spokesperson for Johnson told Fox News Digital that Chicago had achieved historic double-digit decreases in crime and violence in 2025 and was on track for further reductions in violent crime in 2026.The spokesperson also pointed the outlet to the city's reparations initiatives after Johnson did not explicitly use the word reparations during the interview. In March, Johnson announced Repair Chicago, a public engagement initiative intended to collect the lived experiences of Black residents. The city says those accounts will help inform future municipal policy and direct equity measures. Johnson has opposed reforms imposed by the Trump administration in Chicago, although Trump did not name him personally in the Oct. 6 post.Evanston Reparations Program Faces Federal ScrutinyThe White House has also pledged to stop reparations programs and accused officials who support them of virtue signaling to win votes, according to the report. The debate comes as reparations initiatives continue in other communities. Evanston, Illinois, launched a reparations program in 2021 that offers eligible Black residents or their direct descendants $25,000 grants for housing and home repairs. The program is funded by local taxes on legal recreational marijuana sales.Evanston has distributed more than $7 million from an allotted $20 million fund. Earlier this year, the city's Reparations Committee approved another round of funding for 44 residents. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division previously told Fox News Digital that local officials advancing reparations measures were 'virtue signaling' to win votes. The Justice Department has also raised concerns about proposals elsewhere.In September of last year, the department warned officials in Buncombe County, North Carolina, that it would investigate potential civil rights violations if local leaders approved recommendations from the Asheville-Buncombe Community Reparations Commission. The warning reflected the federal government's scrutiny of local reparations proposals as cities and counties consider programs tied to the history of slavery and its effects.