The Trump Administration Deploys Additional National Guard Members to Washington, D.C.
The Trump administration plans to deploy another 500 members of the National Guard to the streets of Washington, D.C., Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on Wednesday, just hours after two service members were shot a few blocks away from the White House.
President Trump ordered the additional deployment, as revealed by Hegseth during his trip to the Dominican Republic on Wednesday. In a statement that evening addressing the shooting, Mr. Trump confirmed his directive to mobilize an extra 500 troops in D.C. A U.S. official had informed CBS News of the Army’s receipt of the request and their efforts to swiftly fulfill it.
These additional service members will join approximately 2,200 troops already deployed in D.C. as of Sunday morning, including around 900 members of the D.C. National Guard and more than 1,200 from several states’ Guard forces, according to a press release from the military’s Joint Task Force – District of Columbia.
The arrival time of the extra 500 troops remains unclear, nor is it definite that they will be drawn from the D.C. National Guard or any state’s Guard force.
Hegseth made this announcement following the shooting of two West Virginia National Guard members in an attack in the capital. FBI Director Kash Patel stated at a briefing that both Guard members are in critical condition. Local police confirm that a suspect is in custody and being treated in a hospital.
“This will only stiffen our resolve to ensure that we make Washington, D.C., safe and beautiful,” Hegseth assured reporters on Wednesday.
National Guard forces were initially deployed to the streets of D.C. in August as part of the Trump administration’s anti-crime mission, which also includes federal law enforcement officers and local police.
D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb has contested the deployment, arguing that it is illegal. A federal judge ruled last week that the deployment likely violates federal law but delayed the ruling for 21 days while the Trump administration appeals.