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Most national guard forces answer to state governors and have to be “federalised” to be brought under presidential control, but in Washington DC these troops already report only to the US president.
Why has Trump deployed national guard in Washington?
The overwhelmingly Democratic city faces allegations from Republican politicians it is overrun by crime, plagued by homelessness and financially mismanaged — although violent offences are down.
The administration says 800 DC national guardsmen — potentially backed up by other “specialised” guard units — will be deployed to the city of 700,000.
Hundreds of officers and agents from more than a dozen federal agencies, including the FBI, have fanned out across the city in recent days. Attorney general Pam Bondi will oversee the police force takeover, Trump said.
What do crime statistics actually show?
A Gallup poll in October found that 64 per cent of Americans believed crime had risen in 2024, although FBI data shows the lowest levels of violent crime nationwide in more than half a century.
What is the US national guard?
When needed, national guard units can also be activated for deployments into combat zones, especially if the US is at war.
National guard troops have been dispatched to Washington many times, including in response to the 6 January 2021 Capitol riots and 2020 protests over police brutality. Source: Getty / Brandon Bell
Unlike parts of the US military, the national guard performs both state- and federal-level functions, and is organised into groupings based in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the US territories of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the US Virgin Islands.
This means that compared to other components of the US military, the national guard is second only to the US army in terms of size.
Has national guard deployment happened before?
Guard troops have been dispatched to Washington many times, including in response to the 6 January 2021 attack on the US Capitol by Trump supporters, and during 2020 protests over police brutality.
What was the response to the deployment?
Bowser struck a diplomatic tone, saying she and other members of her administration would work with the federal government, even as she again rejected Trump’s claim of widespread crime.
Washington mayor Muriel Bowser has pushed back on Donald Trump’s claims of rising crime in the US capital. Source: AP / Julia Demaree Nikhinson
While Bowser said the law appeared to give the president broad power to take temporary control of the police force, the city’s attorney general, Brian Schwalb, earlier called Trump’s actions “unlawful” and said his office was “considering all of our options”.
“That’s far more dangerous than the situation he says he is fixing.”
