PHILADELPHIA — Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro pledged to “stand up " to President Donald Trump if he tries to take control of the Pennsylvania National Guard. But that won’t stop the Democratic governor from calling up the Guard on his own if needed, though he expects local law enforcement to be able to handle protests of the Trump administration this weekend.

A spokesperson for Shapiro said Friday that if necessary, Shapiro is prepared to deploy the Pennsylvania National Guard, reaffirming his role as commander in chief of Pennsylvania’s troops as Trump continues to test the long-held rights of governors to control state Guards..

For now, Shapiro’s office is coordinating with Pennsylvania State Police and Philadelphia police as the two agencies prepare ahead of Saturday’s anti-Trump “No Kings” demonstrations that are expected in Philadelphia and in cities and towns across the state.

Trump federalized the California National Guard earlier this week without Gov. Gavin Newsom’s consent in response to protests in Los Angeles against Trump’s latest illegal immigration sweeps around the majority-Latino city. Trump warned that if other violent protests break out, they would be “met with equal or greater force than we met right here.”

In response, Shapiro signed onto a letter with all of the nation’s Democratic governors condemning the act as “an alarming abuse of power.” He went further, in an interview with The Washington Post, and vowed to protect the rights of protesters.

“And should the Guard be needed, it would be deployed at my direction following a legal process, not the way it’s been done in California, which I think has been really dangerous,” Shapiro told The Washington Post.

Governors across the country have taken different approaches to preparation for the nationwide protests as they face an unprecedented threat of Trump circumventing state governors by sending in U.S. Marine forces or federalizing a state’s Guard without a governor’s consent, as happened in California.

In Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott preemptively called up the National Guard earlier this week, USA Today reported, while Democratic Gov. Bob Ferguson of Washington said he expects local law enforcement to be able to handle protests.

Ahead of the anti-Trump protests organized in Philadelphia, Shapiro and Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle L. Parker have urged peace, promised that law enforcement will do what it must to maintain that peace, and pledged to arrest those who act unlawfully. Fifteen people were arrested at a Tuesday protest of the Trump administration’s use of ICE.

The “No Kings” protests have been scheduled for weeks in Philadelphia and across the country, but are now expecting increased participation in response to recent immigration arrests and Trump’s intervention in the Los Angeles protests.

Little has been reported previously about Shapiro’s use of the state Guard. He offered a window into his prior consent to the federal government to use Pennsylvania’s forces in an interview earlier this week on CNBC’s Squawk Box.

Shapiro told CNBC he had consented to send the Guard to the Southern border, when requested by the federal government.

“I take very, very seriously the leadership role I have with the Pennsylvania State Police, and that I am the commander in chief of the Pennsylvania National Guard,” Shapiro added.

A spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs said in an email that more than 100 Guard members have been sent on missions to the border in 2023, 2024, and 2025.

Shapiro has never declined to send the state National Guard when requested by the federal government, his spokesperson said.

Since Shapiro took office in January 2023, Pennsylvania guardsmen have been sent to support federal missions in the Middle East, the Horn of Africa, Germany, and the Indo-Pacific region, DMVA spokesperson Angela Watson said in an email.

Members of the Pennsylvania National Guard are in Washington this weekend to support the Washington, D.C., National Guard’s traffic control and crowd-management efforts at Trump’s military parade Saturday, in celebration of the 250th birthday of the U.S. Army, Watson added.

Shapiro has previously resisted resolutions from the Pennsylvania Senate, where the GOP-controlled chamber has called on him to send troops to the U.S.-Mexico border to support Abbott, the Texas governor, and his efforts to secure the border.

Shapiro’s press secretary, Manuel Bonder, said in a statement that Shapiro’s oversight of the state National Guard is a “critical, apolitical responsibility,” adding that the nation needs a secure border and reforms to its immigration systems.

“The Governor and National Guard leadership make decisions on deployments and operations based on serious expertise while prioritizing the safety of our guard members — not based on the opinions of legislators looking for attention,” Bonder added. “This difference should be fairly clear to anyone who is not blinded by bad faith partisanship.”

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