This weekend, the governors of three Republican-led states declared their intention to dispatch hundreds of National Guard members to supplement the forces President Donald Trump has already stationed in Washington, D.C.
Adding to the contingent deployed by Trump the previous week, West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey indicated his state would contribute 300 to 400 Guard troops, while South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster committed 200 troops. Ohio Governor Mike DeWine stated that 150 Guard personnel are expected to arrive within the next few days.
McMaster articulated his purpose as “supporting President Trump in his endeavor to reinstate law and order in our nation’s capital,” also noting that these Guard members would return to South Carolina should an emergency arise there. Morrisey commented that the deployment of troops is being carried out for Trump and serves as an illustration of “regional collaboration.”
Morrisey’s office further specified, “The West Virginia National Guard’s participation will encompass supplying critical equipment, offering specialized training, and deploying approximately 300-400 trained individuals as instructed.”
These new reinforcements nearly double the number of National Guard troops present in D.C., representing a notable intensification of Trump’s assumption of police control within the city, a move already met with protests and
While D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has not directly commented on this escalation, she stated late Saturday: “The policing of American citizens on American soil by American soldiers and airmen is #UnAmerican.”
Last week, Trump asserted authority to oversee the D.C. police department and summon the National Guard, alleging the city was engulfed in “bloodshed, bedlam and squalor.” This .
Trump additionally cited other significant urban centers where he desires to place law enforcement under federal oversight, such as New York City, Baltimore, and Oakland. Trump remarked, “They are in such a dire state. This initiative will expand. We are commencing robustly with D.C.”
Chief Pamela Smith of Bowser’s Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) technically maintains daily command over the MPD, despite an attempt by the Trump Administration to install the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) as an “emergency police commissioner.”
However, Bowser and other city officials remain obligated to collaborate with Trump and his declaration of a state of emergency within the district.
Bowser has consistently maintained that Trump’s reaction to crime in D.C. is exaggerated and unwarranted, given that crime has following a surge in 2023.
Beyond the National Guard troops, Trump has also dispatched federal personnel from the U.S. Park Police, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the U.S. Marshals Service for nocturnal patrols in D.C.
During the initial week, federal officers established checkpoints across the city, and law enforcement personnel have , including 75 detentions by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE)—leveraging the city’s federalization to advance Trump’s assertive immigration policies since his re-election in January.