Republican States Are Sending Hundreds More National Guard Troops to D.C.

Governors from three Republican states announced this weekend that they would send hundreds of National Guard troops to support President Donald Trump’s already 800-strong deployment in Washington, D.C. Joining the D.C. Guard members deployed by Trump last week, West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey said the state would send 300 to 400 of its Guard troops, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster pledged 200 troops, and Gov. Mike DeWine of Ohio said 150 Guard members would arrive in the coming days. McMaster said he was sending troops “to support President Trump in his mission to restore law and order to our nation’s capital,” and that the Guard members would return home if an emergency affected South Carolina. Morrisey said that the troops are being sent “at the request” of Trump and as a show of “regional cooperation.” “WVNG involvement will include providing mission-essential equipment, specialized training, and approximately 300-400 skilled personnel as directed,” Morissey’s office added. Read more: Trump’s Hostile Takeover of D.C. Is Straight Out of the Summer 2020 Playbook The new contributions amount to a near-doubling of National Guard troops in D.C. and a significant escalation of Trump’s takeover of policing in the city, which has already been marked by protests and criticism over his attempts to expand his executive power. Though the escalation has not been addressed specifically by D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, she posted on X late Saturday: “American soldiers and airmen policing American citizens on American soil is #UnAmerican.” Trump invoked emergency powers to take control of the D.C. police department and call in the National Guard last week, claiming the city had been overrun by “bloodshed, bedlam and squalor.” That claim is disputed by experts. Trump also mentioned other major cities where he wants to put police under federal control, including New York City, Baltimore, and Oakland. “They’re so far gone,” Trump said. “This will go further. We’re starting very strongly with D.C.” Bowser’s Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) Chief Pamela Smith still technically has day-to-day command over MPD following a failed attempt by the Trump Administration to place the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) as an “emergency police commissioner.” But, Bowser and city leaders are still required to cooperate with Trump and his Executive Order declaring a state of emergency in the district. Bowser has been adamant that Trump’s response to crime in D.C. has been overblown and unnecessary, as crime has decreased in the city in the last two years after a spike in 2023. In addition to National Guard troops, Trump also deployed federal officers from the U.S. Park Police, ICE, the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, and the U.S. Marshals Service on night patrols in D.C. In the first week, federal officers have set up checkpoints around the city, and police have arrested almost 200 people, including 75 arrests by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE)—utilizing the city takeover to further Trump’s aggressive immigration tactics since his return to office in January.