Three GOP-led states to send hundreds of National Guard troops to DC as White House escalates police takeover
- - Three GOP-led states to send hundreds of National Guard troops to DC as White House escalates police takeover
Shania Shelton, Kaanita Iyer, CNNAugust 16, 2025 at 11:12 PM
US National Guard members patrol Union Station in Washington DC on August 15. - Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images
The Republican governors of West Virginia, South Carolina and Ohio announced Saturday they will send National Guard troops to Washington, DC, in an escalation of President Donald Trump’s efforts to federally take over law enforcement in the city.
West Virginia’s governor said his state was sending 300 to 400 National Guard troops to the nation’s capital. South Carolina authorized the deployment of 200 troops, and Ohio said it will send 150.
“At the request of the Trump administration, I have directed the @WVNationalGuard to support the President’s initiative to make D.C. safe and beautiful. We are deploying 300-400 skilled personnel to the nation’s capital, reflecting our commitment to a strong and secure America,” West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey said in an X post on Saturday.
The efforts will be federally funded, and the state’s National Guard will provide “mission-essential” equipment and training, according to a statement from Morrisey’s office.
A White House official said Saturday that the West Virginia troops “will protect federal assets, create a safe environment for law enforcement officials to carry out their duties when required, and provide a visible presence to deter crime.”
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster said the federal government will pay for the deployment of his state’s troops. “Our National Guard will work to assist President Trump’s mission, and should a hurricane or natural disaster threaten our state, they can and will be immediately recalled home to respond,” he said on X.
In a statement, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said he was “asked by the Secretary of the Army to send 150 military police from the Ohio National Guard to support the District of Columbia National Guard,” adding that the troops “are expected to arrive in” the nation’s capital “in the coming days.”
“These Ohio National Guard members will carry out presence patrols and serve as added security,” DeWine said.
DC Mayor Muriel Bowser’s office declined to comment on the deployment of additional National Guard troops, though the mayor posted on her personal X account on Saturday night that “American soldiers and airmen policing American citizens on American soil is #UnAmerican.”
The deployment of other states’ troops marks an escalation of Trump’s efforts to address crime in the capital. The president previously announced that he was deploying over 800 DC National Guard troops to the city, surging federal agents into the streets, and federalizing DC’s police force. The president has repeatedly complained about rising crime in DC, but overall crime numbers are lower this year than in 2024.
While the National Guard isn’t making arrests at this time, a White House official said earlier Saturday the troops now may be armed. CNN reported earlier in the week the guardsmen would likely have weapons nearby — in their trucks, for example — if they absolutely need to access them for self-defense purposes. CNN has reached out to the DC National Guard for comment.
The number of federal agents patrolling the streets of DC following Trump’s declaration of a crime emergency has also ramped up, according to an internal Secret Service memo obtained by CNN.
Secret Service Director Sean Curran said in a message to personnel Saturday, “More than 700 federal law enforcement personnel” from multiple agencies “are supporting the effort every day. That number is expected to increase as more National Guard troops join the safe streets initiative.”
Trump’s efforts to “beautify the city” also include cracking down on homeless encampments. On Friday, 25 encampments were removed, according to the White House official. Sweeps began Wednesday after an anxious few days in which homeless residents and their allies waited to see who would be targeted and which federal agencies would be involved.
White House officials said they’ll send homeless people to shelters — or to jails if they refuse to leave encampments. But advocates said this would be unlawful, counterproductive and costly by disrupting existing efforts to move homeless people into shelters or permanent housing.
Scrutiny over federal police takeover
DC Councilmember Robert White said he was “startled” over West Virginia sending in troops, saying on “CNN Newsroom” on Saturday, “President Trump is breaching democratic norms” and pointing out that Trump has discussed making similar moves in other cities.
Meanwhile, protesters on Saturday confronted National Guard members parked near the White House.
“Trump must go now,” the protesters chanted as they surrounded the guard members and their military vehicle.
Using bicycles, DC police created a barricade between protesters and the guard members. CNN did not witness any violence during the confrontation, though tensions began to rise as some protesters shouted insults and profanities at law enforcement.
Army veteran Alan Dent, a Rockville, Maryland, resident, told CNN that Trump’s deployment of the National Guard amounts to a “power grab” and argued that the city is safe.
“You should not deploy the National Guard on this soil for the purpose of intimidating a populace. That is not what they’re here for,” he said, adding, “I feel bad for the National Guard and everything they have to go through right now. This is not what they signed up for.”
The announcement of additional troop deployments comes amid scrutiny over the takeover in the nation’s capital. Washington, DC, sued the Trump administration on Friday to block Attorney General Pam Bondi’s Thursday directive for the city to accept an “emergency police commissioner,” acting Drug Enforcement Administration chief Terry Cole, and give him full control of the department during the federal takeover.
Following a hearing in federal court, Bondi issued a new order Friday giving control of the Metropolitan Police Department back to its chief, Pamela Smith.
Bowser, the city’s Democratic mayor, has repeatedly said she wants to make sure the federal law enforcement surge is useful to the city, though she struck a more adversarial tone during an event this week, calling Trump’s police department takeover an “authoritarian push.”
This story and headline have been with additional developments.
CNN’s Veronica Stracqualursi, Alayna Treene, Josh Campbell and Marshall Cohen contributed to this report.
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