Flocking around the stairs leading out of Union Station. Enjoying some music near the Lincoln Memorial. Even sitting to dreamily gaze at the scenic sunset over the Potomac River. I saw National Guard members do a lot of things last weekend on my trip to Washington, D.C.
What I didn’t see, however, was any sensible reason for them to be there.
Watching them engage in leisurely activities, co-existing with locals and tourists alike — seeing them enjoy the sunny weather with smiles on their faces, decked out in full camo with guns strapped to their hips — was surreal to say the least. It made one thing abundantly clear: The National Guard has no reason to be at the capital and it’s time for them to leave.
There are 958 National Guard troops from D.C. and 1,300 National Guard troops from other states, so over 2,000 Guard members in total, currently in Washington. There are also deployments in Los Angeles, Memphis, Tennessee Portland, Oregon and Chicago.
Troops were deployed to Washington on Aug. 11 with the task of “providing a visible presence in support of local and federal law enforcement at areas along the National Mall, key federal buildings, the Washington waterfront, Metro subway stations and other areas,” according to the National Guard official website.
The deployment followed President Donald Trump’s executive order declaring a crime emergency in the District of Columbia, which stated that “rising violence in the capital now urgently endangers public servants, citizens, and tourists, disrupts safe and secure transportation and the proper functioning of the Federal Government…” etc., etc.
Essentially, they were sent to rescue the city from “crime, bloodshed, bedlam and squalor,” in President Trump’s own words. The reality, though, is that violent crime has been steadily falling in Washington since 2023 and, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, it actually hit a 30-year low in January.
And while tackling “squalor” seems commendable, doing so by harassing the homeless is a disgrace. I mean, seriously, we all know that forcing the National Guard to clear away homeless encampments and intimidate people with guns and uniforms doesn’t actually help remedy the situation. Nothing screams “for the people” like attacking citizens who are already at their lowest.
In my eyes, the deployment of armed troops feels like the President’s declaration of war on the country’s own Democratic cities, and D.C. residents seem to agree.
The Guards have been met with fierce opposition from locals, who have engaged in various protests asking for the removal of the troops, saying they’re opposing the “authoritarian regime.” During my visit, I couldn’t go a few feet without seeing a bright red “Free D.C.” sign in someone’s yard, asking for the removal of the National Guard on top of other pleas.
Most of the city seems to want the troops removed, and the troops don’t seem too eager to stay.
According to a CNN article, the Guards’ morale is dropping. “One soldier from Tennessee told his father that from 4 p.m. to 4 a.m. every day, his only task is to walk around Chinatown.” Another complained about getting cursed at all day, while others have questioned what their actual job is.
Normally, when the National Guard is deployed domestically, it’s to respond to crises like hurricanes or wildfires, offering support or doing search and rescue.
In Washington, however, they are working on beautification projects, picking up trash and tending to the National Parks. So far, Guardsmen have cleaned more than “3.2 miles of roadways, collected more than 500 bags of trash, and disposed of three truckloads of plant waste in coordination with the U.S. National Park Service,” according to the same CNN article.
The guards cleaning up the city are part of what the Pentagon has named Task Force Beautification. They are being sent to highly trafficked tourist spots to replant grass, wash off graffiti, mulch and repaint fences, as detailed in a recent New York Times article.
While beautifying the city is nice of them, I think we can all agree that having National Guard members raking leaves and spreading mulch is laughable, and frankly unfair to the troops, who locals have been calling the “National Gardeners.”
According to a fact sheet put together by the Institute of Policy Studies, the cumulative cost of deploying the National Guard to all five aforementioned cities through Nov. 15 is over $470 million. The cost for just the troops in Washington, D.C., specifically, is close to $270 million.
Our government is spending millions so the National Guard can pick up trash.
Trump argued that the troops are necessary to quell violence in Democratic-controlled cities and crack down on crime. I don’t know about you, but I can’t recall the last time a fallen leaf held me at gunpoint or tried to include me in a drug deal.
A new court filing and emails of National Guard leaders obtained by ABC News show that the National Guard could be in D.C. all the way into summer, possibly using the planned celebration of America’s 250th anniversary on July 4, 2026, as a reason for staying. The Guard’s orders technically last until Nov. 30, but an extension seems very likely.
Just peachy.
The deployment of the National Guard to U.S. cities, and their continued, useless presence there, is outrageous. It is costing our government financially. It is scaring American citizens and making their commute to work feel like crossing a war zone. It’s humiliating and cruel for the Guard members themselves, many of whom have been stuck living out of state for months to guard citizens from the occasional rowdy pigeon.
It is time for the National Guard troops to leave D.C. and all the other cities they are senselessly occupying. We should not be declaring war on ourselves just so armed guards can gaze at the sunset for a paycheck, then take credit for the already existing decline in violent crime. Let these troops go home so they can stop disrupting everyone else’s.
