President Trump announced plans to deploy 800 members of the Washington, D.C., National Guard to the nation’s capital as part of his administration’s effort to crack down on street crime in the city. Formally declaring a public safety emergency, Trump claimed the deployment is part of a citywide effort to combat violent crime such as homicides, robberies, and burglaries. Hegseth, the Defense Secretary, was directed to mobilize the D.C. National Guard and “in such numbers as he deems necessary” to address the epidemic of crime in the nation’s capital. The order allows for possible additional guard deployments from other states, as Hegseth is told to coordinate with state governors for any extra guard members “as he deems necessary and appropriate.”
The troops will be in a Title 32 status, meaning they are under local authority but are federally funded and not subject to the Posse Comitatus Act, which prohibits U.S. service members from taking part in law enforcement activities. Army officials said roughly 800 D.C. National Guard soldiers will be activated to help with administrative and logistical tasks in addition to providing “physical presence in support of law enforcement.”
Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser called Trump’s actions “unsettling and unprecedented” but said she isn’t “totally surprised” by the move. D.C.’s nonvoting delegate in Congress, Eleanor Holmes Norton (D), called Trump’s military and police takeover “counterproductive” and “escalatory,” calling out his reluctance to order a similar guard mobilization on Jan. 6.
