President Donald Trump has ordered the full activation of 800 National Guard soldiers in Washington, DC, as he claims to promote "law and order" in the national capital. All Army and Air National Guardsmen under Joint Task Force DC were activated, the Pentagon confirmed on Thursday, August 14.
As Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson has explained, the troops will help out the Metropolitan Police Department and federal authorities with everything from guarding national monuments and federal buildings to patrolling neighborhoods and controlling traffic points. The deployment will remain in effect until Trump himself determines stability has been regained.
As opposed to in all other states, the Washington DC National Guard is under direct presidential control, so no further action is necessary to put it under federal command.
Trump's action also includes a federal takeover of the city police department an action that falls in line with a wider Republican complaint about Democratic-controlled cities as dangerous and mismanaged. Yet, recent official reports from the Washington Metropolitan Police indicate a different course. Violent crime levels in 2024 have really decreased from last year, after an initial spike during the post-pandemic years.
Opponents contend that the deployment is more about political spectacle in preparation for the upcoming election cycle. Allies respond that it clearly conveys federal determination in securing the nation's capital.
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This is not the first instance Trump has had to call on prominent troop deployments within United States cities. This year, he directed National Guard and Marine units into Los Angeles to manage unrest caused by aggressive immigration enforcement raids. The action was the first time since 1965 that a president had sent the Guard to a state over the objections of its governor.
With tensions already running high between the White House and city leaders, Trump's new move paves the way for more showdowns over who gets to call the shots on security in the nation's capital and whether the city's current condition merits such a display of force.
