Will there be a federal task force at the 2028 Olympics? LA Council votes to find out

Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday approved a motion to request that LA28, the private organizers for the 2028 Olympics and Paralympics, clarify how the federal government will be involved in the Games.

In a 14-0 vote, council members approved a motion introduced by Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez in August 2025. LA28 is asked to provide a detailed presentation on the new federal Olympics task force -- its purpose, jurisdiction, anticipated activities and any implications for the city's planning and preparation.

"One of my concerns from the outset of the announcement was that there was going to be a federal task force tied to LA28," Rodriguez said during Tuesday's council meeting. "I know we all have increasing concerns about their involvement and their influence around what policing will look like, but frankly, even far in advance of the games coming, their influences in our preparation for the LA28 Games."

The councilwoman said the city and country are in a "very tragic moment where we're continuing to find ourselves in a reactive mode to activities that are being brought onto citizens of this country."

The report would also include guidance on what guardrails the city can enact to ensure the protection of "vulnerable communities."

Councilman Bob Blumenfield was absent during the vote.

In August 2025, President Donald Trump conducted a news conference alongside LA28 President and Chairman Casey Wasserman, where he signed an executive order creating a White House Olympics task force.

Rodriguez alluded to the Trump administration's aggressive illegal immigration enforcement activities, as well as the fatal shootings of Keith Porter Jr. on New Year's Eve in Northridge by an off-duty U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement agent, and last week's fatal shooting of Renee Good in Minnesota by an ICE agent.

Rodriguez said top city officials previously assured council members that the Los Angeles Police Department would be the leader in "helping to inform the engagement and activities of law enforcement with these Games."

In November 2025, former U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield, Reince Priebus, who served as chief of staff during part of Trump's first term, billionaire Trump donor Diane Hendricks, Trump's former banker Ken Moelis and Patrick Dumont, son-in-law of Trump donor Miriam Adelson, joined LA28's Board of Directors.

Mayor Karen Bass' office previously pointed to the mayor's long friendship with McCarthy, describing them as friends who had a productive working relationship in Sacramento and in Congress.

City officials and supporters of the Olympic Games say the international event will be a boon for the local economy.

Meanwhile, some critics of LA28 say the event should be canceled.

NOlympics LA, a coalition of more than two dozen partner organizations based in Los Angeles and California, say the harms of the Games "outweigh any possible so-called `benefits' or `opportunities' of hosting, most of which have been exaggerated, or were simply never intended to serve poor and working- class Angelenos," according to the group's website.

The organization argues that the Olympics will exacerbate problems such as displacement, gentrification, militarization and surveillance, among other issues.

LA28 is a designated National Special Security Event, meaning a broad coalition of local, state and federal law enforcement agencies will oversee security -- which will include the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and ICE.

Additional reporting by City News Service.