Trump mobilizes 800 DC guard troops, extends federal police control
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President Donald Trump has deployed all 800 DC National Guard troops and taken temporary control of the city's police, following a similar contested move in California.
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National Guard personnel keep watch as travelers arrive at the entrance to Union Station near the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Aug. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
The Pentagon announced Thursday that all 800 Army and Air National Guard personnel ordered to assist law enforcement in Washington, DC, by President Donald Trump are now deployed.
"As of today, all 800 Army and Air National Guardsmen are mobilized... as part of Joint Task Force DC, and they are now here in our capital," Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson told reporters.
The troops, she said, "will assist the DC Metropolitan Police Department and federal law enforcement partners with monument security, community safety patrols, protecting federal facilities and officers" and traffic control operations.
Wilson added that the deployment will remain in place "until law and order has been restored in the District, as determined by the president."
Trump ordered the mobilization on Monday alongside a federal takeover of the DC Metropolitan Police Department, invoking the 1973 Home Rule Act to assert direct presidential control for up to 30 days.
He framed the move as part of a crackdown to "take our capital back," accusing the Democratic-led city of rampant crime, homelessness, and financial mismanagement.
However, police statistics show violent crime fell between 2023 and 2024 after a pandemic-era spike.
Legal experts have noted that any extension of federal control beyond the 30-day limit would require congressional approval and could trigger a constitutional fight.
Troop deployments
The action follows Trump's June deployment of roughly 4,000 California National Guard troops and 700 US Marines to Los Angeles in response to protests sparked by immigration enforcement raids.
That intervention, carried out over the objections of Governor Gavin Newsom, marked the first time since 1965 that a president deployed the Guard against a state's wishes.
The legality of the California deployment is now being challenged in federal court, with critics arguing it violated the Posse Comitatus Act and state sovereignty protections under the Tenth Amendment.
Read more: Court backs Trump's control of National Guard over Newsom's objection
In Washington, Trump faces fewer legal hurdles, as the DC National Guard already answers directly to the president.
Still, the rapid succession of large-scale domestic troop deployments has intensified debate over the scope of presidential authority in civilian law enforcement.
