For the past year, National Guard troops, more than 4,600 at present, have been patrolling the streets of Washington, DC, after President Donald Trump deployed them there in August 2025.
Trump said the purpose was to "address the epidemic of crime in our Nation’s capital." He recently extended that deployment – at an additional estimated cost of more than $1.4 billion
– by more than two years until the end of his term in January 2029.The extension is needed to maintain law and order and to keep reducing crime, Trump said.
The Congressional Budget Office estimated in January 2026 that the government had spent $223 million on the DC guard deployment through 2025, USA TODAY reported.
What has the National Guard done in the District over the past year?
How crime rates have changed in DC
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The $1.4 billion estimated cost for extending the deployment to 2029 comes from the office of Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts, as part of the confirmation process for Jules Hurst III, Trump’s pick for Pentagon comptroller.
That estimate is based on roughly 2,500 members being stationed in DC from October 2026 through January 2029.
The National Guard troops are a later addition to Trump's broader "Making the District of Columbia Safe and Beautiful" task force, established by executive order in March 2025. Its goal is to make DC "safe, beautiful, and prosperous" by preventing crime, preserving order, protecting monuments and promoting beautification.
Though Guard patrols inside the District can change, recurring areas that troops monitor include:
- The National Mall and memorial parks
- Monuments and tourist areas
- Metrorail stations
- Federal office buildings
- Waterfronts and transportation hubs
The National Guard has aided DC metro police 479 times during their year-long deployment, the Military Times reported. Brig. Gen. Leland Blanchard, the interim commanding general of the District of Columbia National Guard, told reporters on Aug. 3 that Guard assistance included:
- 788: Cases of medical assistance rendered
- 325: Instances of overdose reversal drug Narcan administered
- 262: Fights halted
- 43: Lost children reunited with parents/guardians
USA TODAY sought to verify those numbers with the DC National Guard but received a bounceback from their media email that read, "the recipient's mailbox is full and can't accept messages now." Calls to the media line were not immediately returned.
How have National Guard numbers changed in DC?
No single source provides a constant number of troops in DC. These estimated numbers are based on published reports:
What was the reaction to deploying the National Guard in DC?
District lawmakers, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-DC, and the American Civil Liberties Union opposed the deployment.
Some DC residents say they feel as if they're living in a city under siege, the Guardian reported.
The deployment was supported by some Republican governors and the police union of the District's Metropolitan Police Force.
Where are the National Guard troops from?
The National Guard has faced some violence while in DC, USA TODAY reported.
U.S. Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom, 20, was killed and U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, was severely injured in a shooting incident in late November 2025.
The Justice Department has charged Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, an Afghan national, in the shootings.
Contributing: Chris Quintana, N'dea Yancey-Bragg
Source: USA TODAY Network reporting and research; Reuters; District of Columbia National Guard; U.S. Department of War/Defense; Congressional Budget Office
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: National Guard troops will stay on DC streets into 2029. Here’s why
