In a dramatic eleventh-hour reversal, President Donald Trump has called off plans to deploy federal agents and National Guard troops to San Francisco this weekend, following a late-night phone call with Mayor Daniel Lurie and interventions from two of Silicon Valley's most powerful billionaires.
The sudden about-face, announced Thursday morning via Trump's Truth Social platform, came after the president spoke with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff—both of whom urged him to give the city's local leadership a chance. "Great people like Jensen Huang, Marc Benioff, and others have called saying that the future of San Francisco is great," Trump wrote in his post, according to NBC Bay Area. "They want to give it a 'shot.' Therefore, we will not surge San Francisco on Saturday. Stay tuned!"
Yesterday, I spoke to San Franciscans about a potential federal deployment in our city. I said then what I have said since taking office, that keeping San Franciscans safe is my top priority.
— Daniel Lurie 丹尼爾·羅偉 (@DanielLurie) October 23, 2025
Late last night, I received a phone call from the President of the United States. I…
A High-Stakes Phone Call
Mayor Lurie revealed Thursday morning that he received the critical phone call from Trump late Wednesday evening, during which he made his pitch for the city. "I told him the same thing I told our residents: San Francisco is on the rise," Lurie said in a statement, as reported by KRON4. "Visitors are coming back, buildings are getting leased and purchased, and workers are coming back to the office."
The announcement represents the biggest political test of Lurie's ten-month tenure as mayor—and marks what many observers are calling a significant win for the first-term leader. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed the decision in a follow-up conversation with Lurie Thursday morning. Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi praised the mayor's "exceptional leadership," while Governor Gavin Newsom's office said Trump had "finally, for once, listened to reason."
Tech Titans Enter the Fray
The role of tech CEOs in swaying Trump's decision cannot be understated. Benioff's involvement is particularly notable given that his earlier comments calling for National Guard deployment two weeks ago had sparked this entire crisis. According to CNBC, Benioff reversed course after facing intense backlash and even losing longtime ally Ron Conway from his foundation board.
Huang's participation adds another layer of intrigue. The Nvidia co-founder, who owns a $38 million mansion in Presidio Heights, has been expanding his company's footprint in San Francisco and recently accompanied Trump on a trip to Saudi Arabia, as detailed by the Chronicle. Though Nvidia is headquartered in nearby Santa Clara, sources indicate the company has been eyeing office space in the Mission Rock project.
A Careful Political Dance
Lurie's approach throughout this crisis has been notably measured. Unlike Governor Newsom, who has repeatedly mocked and criticized Trump, the mayor has studiously avoided even saying the president's name in public for the past ten months, according to The San Francisco Standard. When asked if that strategy had helped avert federal intervention, Lurie demurred: "That's for you to talk about."
The mayor's statement Thursday struck a delicate balance, welcoming partnerships with federal agencies like the FBI, DEA, and ATF "to get drugs and drug dealers off our streets" while firmly stating that "having the military and militarized immigration enforcement in our city will hinder our recovery." It's a tightrope walk that appears to have paid off—at least for now. As reported by SFist, Attorney General Pam Bondi is now planning to meet with Lurie soon to discuss fentanyl enforcement.
But Oakland Still Braces for Impact
While San Francisco may have dodged the bullet, the situation in the East Bay remains fluid and tense. More than 100 federal agents, primarily from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, arrived Thursday morning at Coast Guard Island in Alameda, a narrow strip of land between Oakland and Alameda connected by a single bridge.
Protesters gathered at dawn to block the entrance, resulting in violent confrontations. According to The Oaklandside, federal officers deployed flash-bang grenades and pepper spray into the crowd. Jorge Bautista, a pastor with the United Church of Christ in San Mateo, was struck in the face with what appeared to be a pepper-spray round. Another protester had his foot run over by a vehicle attempting to enter the base, as detailed by KQED.
By mid-morning, the protest had swelled to at least 300 people, including clergy members singing hymns and activists dressed as mimes and clowns. "I have community members and loved ones who are living in fear," Rev. Allison Tanner of Lakeshore Avenue Baptist Church told reporters. The crowd eventually dispersed after California Highway Patrol officers arrived in riot gear around 2:30 p.m.
East Bay Leaders Sound the Alarm
Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee made clear Thursday morning that her city has received no such assurances from the White House. "We know the playbook," Alameda County District Attorney Ursula Jones Dickson said at a press conference, according to SFGATE. "We know that they're baiting Oakland, and that's why San Francisco, all of a sudden, is off the table."
The pointed comment reflects a growing concern among East Bay officials that federal agents, having been talked out of San Francisco operations, may now focus their enforcement efforts on Oakland and other communities across the bay. As one SFist report noted, this could be "the way of rich guys talking to other rich guys and coming to a backroom understanding"—one that leaves less politically connected cities vulnerable.
A Pattern of Deployments Under Scrutiny
Trump's planned "surge" of San Francisco would have been the latest in a series of federal deployments to Democratic-led cities, including Chicago, Los Angeles, and Portland. Those operations have faced intense legal challenges. According to reporting by Hoodline, Federal District Judge Charles Breyer ruled Trump's Los Angeles deployment illegal, writing that the administration "willfully violated the Posse Comitatus Act." Courts in Oregon and Illinois have similarly blocked National Guard deployments.
The threatened federal intervention had prompted Lurie to sign an emergency directive Wednesday calling on San Francisco police to protect immigrants and peaceful protesters while refraining from assisting with federal civil immigration enforcement—a reaffirmation of the city's sanctuary status. City officials have consistently emphasized that crime is down nearly 30% citywide in 2025, reaching its lowest point in decades.
An Ominous Postscript
Trump's Truth Social post ended with an ominous note: "Stay tuned!" And at a White House press conference Thursday, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt made clear the administration's position: "We will continue to watch San Francisco," she said, as reported by multiple outlets.
For Supervisor Jackie Fielder, whose Mission District was expected to be the epicenter of any federal deployment, the reprieve feels temporary at best. "I remain on alert for any federal forces in my district," Fielder wrote in a text message to The Standard. She criticized Lurie's willingness to welcome federal agencies like the FBI and DEA, noting that "under Trump, they've been reassigned to immigration enforcement."
Whether Thursday's announcement represents a genuine détente or merely a temporary pause remains to be seen. What's clear is that San Francisco's sanctuary city status continues to put it in the crosshairs of federal immigration enforcement—and that the influence of billionaire tech CEOs in City Hall politics has never been more apparent.
