The National Guard is expected to expand its use of military trucks, Humvees and boats for armed patrols in Washington, D.C., escalating a deployment in the nation’s capital that President Trump intends to maintain for the rest of his term. More than 3,000 troops are deployed in the city as part of a show of military force that began last year. The troops largely come from Republican-governed states — some of which just flipped to Democratic control in the midterm elections — in addition to 757 members of the D.C.
According to the Pentagon, the decision by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to expand the use of vehicles was made on Oct. 29, shortly before the Republican Party suffered a landslide defeat in Tuesday’s election. The order authorizes the use of up to 60 wheeled vehicles — a combination of Humvees, 2.5-ton cargo trucks and marked patrol cars — while boats from the D.C. National Guard may patrol the Potomac and Anacostia Rivers.
A Pentagon statement said that the patrols may include the use of 20 portable light towers and generators to illuminate public areas. All Guard troops on patrol will be in uniform, and patrol vehicles will be clearly marked as belonging to the National Guard, the Pentagon said. That would be a notable change from earlier in the deployment, when National Guard troops used unmarked vans on patrol.
When asked why these measures were being put in place now, the Pentagon did not immediately respond. Trump has said that the National Guard would help “rescue” the capital from crime and urban blight, even though violent crime had fallen to a 30-year low. Deployed Guard members have been employed to beautify the city by replanting grass, removing graffiti and picking up trash but do not have the power to enforce the law or make arrests.
In September, a Georgia National Guardsman was charged in civilian court with felony assault, accused of pointing his service gun at another soldier while they were on patrol in Washington. He was released on bail while his case moves forward. The deployment reached a high of 5,148 troops in July as part of a surge of military forces for events Mr.
Trump ordered for the country’s 250th anniversary. The number of troops has since steadily declined to 3,098. The governors-elect of Iowa, Georgia and Texas, who have flipped those seats to Democratic control, did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the deployment of their states’ National Guard troops in Washington.
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