National Guard Deployment In D.C.

By Morgan Butler

On Aug. 11, President Donald J. Trump announced that he would be deploying the National Guard to Washington, D.C., citing a “crime emergency” in the city. A few days later, the first soldiers were processed. Although the National Guard personnel were not originally armed, in recent weeks, they have been. Since Trump’s announcement, 800 National Guard personnel have been deployed to the capital, a decision that has faced large controversy.

The public response to the National Guard's presence in Washington, D.C. has been overwhelmingly negative, with the decision being referred to as a “takeover” of the capital instead of a plan to stop crime by news organizations such as CBS, BBC, and USA Today. Many have stated that the crime in D.C. is not dire enough to warrant intervention and that the action is legally ambiguous, as well as questioned whether this is a waste of military resources and if the troops would be better suited working on a different assignment. On Sept. 4, the District of Columbia attorney general announced that the nation’s capital would be suing the Trump administration for the alleged legal violations related to the National Guard deployment.   

According to Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Winston, the role of the National Guard in D.C. was intended to be similar to its role in Los Angeles during the ICE protests and riots over the summer. On Sept. 2, a California judge ruled that the Trump administration’s use of the National Guard in LA was unlawful, claiming that Trump violated the Posse Comitatus Act. In the case of D.C., the National Guard presence is more complicated due to the city’s unique relationship with the federal government and its National Guard. 

Although the order was initially only intended to last for 30 days, the Trump administration is expected to extend the deployment up to Dec. 31 as a means to ensure that the forces are mobilized long enough to receive the full scope of service-related benefits. National Guard officials have started to assess the list of troops deployed to support the Joint Task Force so that each troop deployed is on at least 30-day orders. The extension is being provided so that anyone rotating in to replace troops already in the capital will gain the benefits from 30-day active service; however, it is unlikely that the National Guard will actually stay for that long.