National Guard troops will continue to be in Washington, D.C. through the end of the year, after the Trump administration extended their deployment.
CNN first reported the news, citing government officials, with the Washington Post and ABC News confirming. It’s the second major extension of deployment orders for troops in the capital; in October the orders were extended the first time and expected to end in February. Currently more than 2,600 National Guard troops, from the District of Columbia and nearly a dozen states, are active in the capital after being called up in August.
Task & Purpose contacted Joint Task Force-DC — the National Guard command coordinating the mission — about the orders. JTF-DC directed all questions regarding the deployment to the White House, which has not responded to queries from Task & Purpose. The task force also said that it “remains committed to supporting the D.C. Safe and Beautiful mission and working alongside community partners to keep our city safe and welcoming.”
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The deployment started in August, when President Donald Trump ordered the District of Columbia National Guard to mobilize in support of local and federal law enforcement, claiming that the city was seeing out of control crime. They were joined by troops from several states. Federal and local data showed that violent crime is actually at a 30-year low.
Troops have largely been limited to patrols on federal property and near public transportation stations, although in a few instances intervened to help local police in brawls, in one case briefly detaining someone before transferring them to Park Police custody. They have also taken up various sanitation and other public service projects, such as collecting trash and cleaning parks.
As with other National Guard deployments to cities in 2025, the mission in D.C. has been fought over in court. In November a district court judge found it “unlawful” and ordered it to end by early December. However an appeals court panel blocked that, allowing it to continue while the court considered the Trump administration’s appeal.
Just before Thanksgiving a gunman fired on two members of the West Virginia National Guard near a Metro station. Spc. Sarah Beckstrom died from her wounds while Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe is recovering. In October a soldier with the Alabama National Guard died from an apparent medical emergency while off duty.
There are currently 2,673 National Guard troops assigned to JTF-DC. 714 are from the DC National Guard, while the rest come from 11 states, including Florida, Georgia and Alabama, among others. Their contingents range from as high as 307 service members from South Carolina to the two from Louisiana.
