Trump Gives D.C. Troops New Muscle As Dems Plot National Guard Exit

The Trump administration is widening the role of National Guard troops in Washington, D.C., just as local Democrats try to send out-of-state contingents home. In an October 29 memo obtained by Politico, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth cleared Guard members to use marked police cars, Humvees, light medium tactical vehicles and boats through year's end. The vehicles are meant to support operations such as drug busts, though troops still may not chase suspects or arrest anyone. Boats would provide perimeter security for police actions in the Anacostia area, with federal officers aboard to make arrests, and surveillance of Americans is barred, according to Daily Wire.

The move came days after the November 3 midterms gave Democrats both chambers of Congress. D.C. Councilmember Brooke Pinto, who chairs the public safety committee, said she will ask incoming Democratic governors in Georgia, Iowa, Nevada, Ohio and Texas to recall their troops, which The Washington Post says total roughly 628. Elissa Silverman and Robert C. White Jr. backed her. D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb has separately argued in court that the president overstepped his authority; a federal appeals court has not yet ruled. The deployment began in August 2025 and is expected to run through Inauguration Day 2029.

Summarized by PolitiKool from Daily Wire’s reporting. Read the full story at Daily Wire →