Trump’s crackdown expands: National Guard troops on DC streets to carry guns

Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered National Guard members patrolling Washington’s streets to begin carrying guns as part of President Donald Trump’s law enforcement crackdown, the Pentagon announced Friday.

The Defence Department did not provide any further information regarding the new development or why it was needed.

The move marks an increase in Trump’s involvement in police in the nation’s capital, and comes as almost 2,000 National Guard personnel have been stationed in the largely Democratic city, with hundreds more troops arriving this week from several Republican-led states.

Trump first called up 800 soldiers of the District of Columbia National Guard to aid federal law enforcement in his efforts to combat crime, homelessness, and illegal immigration. Since then, six states have deployed troops to the city, increasing the military presence.

It was unclear if the guard’s involvement in the federal intervention would change. The troops have not participated in law enforcement, instead focussing on defending sites such as the National Mall and Union Station, as well as crowd management.

Some troops fed squirrels. One Guard member assisted a woman in carrying her bags down the steps at a train station. Others have been spotted taking photographs with passersby, conversing, and drinking coffee. There have been no overt indications they have faced threats that would require weapons.

Trump has boasted that the city is safer than ever because of his intervention. He told reporters Friday that “it’s a miracle what’s happened.”

“D.C. was a hell hole,” he said. “But now it’s safe.”

He suggested that he could prolong the deployment of troops and federal agents in Washington.

“The big question is how long do we stay?” he said. “Because if we stay, we want to make sure it doesn’t come back. So we have to take care of these criminals and get them out.”

Trump noted that he would ask Congress for $2 billion to improve the appearance of the city, including resurfacing roads and replacing streetlights. He’s previously pledged to improve the grass to look like one of his golf courses.

“It’s going to be safe, and it’s going to be beautified,” he said.

Trump’s decision to seek more money for sprucing up Washington comes months after the Republican-controlled Congress passed legislation that essentially forced a $1.1 billion budget cut on the city. Local leaders have pleaded for a fix but to no avail.

The Pentagon and the Army had said last week that troops would not carry guns. The new guidance is that they will carry their service-issued weapons.

Alex Wagner, a former chief of staff to the Army secretary and assistant secretary for the Air Force during Democratic administrations, said asking troops to carry firearms is a “recipe for disaster.”

He said most National Guard members don’t have the right training for Trump’s law enforcement crackdown and are being put in a “no-win situation”

“Do they have any role that would require them to have firearms? No,” he said.

However, Wagner said, if there are confrontations, “the White House can spin that to their political advantage.”

The city’s police department and the offices of Mayor Muriel Bowser and Attorney General Brian Schwalb did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The city had been informed about the intent for the National Guard to be armed, a person familiar with the conversations said earlier this week. The person was not authorized to disclose the plans and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Spokespeople for the District of Columbia National Guard and a military task force overseeing all the guard troops in Washington did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.