DC National Guard Extends Deployment Through November as Home Rule Dispute Escalates

While troops assist with public safety, Washington’s leaders have said that the deployment exceeds the military’s lawful role in local law enforcement.

Armed National Guard members patrol the National Mall in Washington on Aug. 27, 2025. Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times

District of Columbia National Guard troops will extend their encampment through Nov. 30 to help ensure public safety in the nation’s capital, the commanding general said on Sept. 4.

National Guard troops have been assisting law enforcement in Washington since President Donald Trump mobilized them on Aug. 11 as part of an effort to combat violent crime.

Brig. Gen. Leland D. Blanchard II, interim commanding general of the D.C. National Guard, said the deployed personnel will remain encamped in the capital because their mission is not yet complete.

“I’ve made the decision to extend the encampment, as we continue to work to ensure that everyone that walks through these city streets is safe,” Blanchard said in a video message posted to X. “Our nation deserves that.”

Trump previously invoked Section 740 of the Home Rule Act, which allows the president to control the city’s police department for up to 30 days, with any extension requiring congressional approval.

Washington sued the Trump administration on Sept. 4, alleging that the deployment undermines the district’s local autonomy granted under the Home Rule Act, whereby the city has jurisdiction over its own affairs but Congress can override its decisions.

The lawsuit states that the deployment of nearly 2,300 National Guard troops, including units from seven states, to Washington violated the Posse Comitatus Act, which restricts the use of the military for law enforcement purposes.

The lawsuit also argues that using the National Guard from other states in the nation’s capital is a violation of the Constitution and federal law.

“That is because the Constitution and federal law reserve to the states the authority to command National Guard forces unless and until they have been placed into active federal service,” it stated.

White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson has defended the deployment, saying it was carried out under Trump’s “lawful authority” to protect federal assets in Washington.

“This lawsuit is nothing more than another attempt—at the detriment of DC residents and visitors—to undermine the President’s highly successful operations to stop violent crime in DC,” Jackson said in a statement to The Epoch Times.

Despite the lawsuit, District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser signed an executive order on Sept. 2 establishing the “Safe and Beautiful Emergency Operations Center” tasked with overseeing the district’s response to the federal task force.

The mayor’s office said the center was designed to centralize communications and ensure the district coordinates with federal law enforcement “to the maximum extent allowable by law.”

District of Columbia National Guard soldiers patrol on the National Mall in Washington on Aug. 14, 2025. Jacquelyn Martin/AP Photo

The federal task force, known as the Safe and Beautiful Task Force, was created by Trump through a March 28 executive order and tasked with ensuring “maximum enforcement” of federal immigration law in Washington.

Bowser said on Aug. 27 that crime has decreased since Trump deployed Guard troops and took federal control of the local police department.

She told reporters during an update on the enforcement surge that she and her officials “greatly appreciate” the added presence of law enforcement, noting that in just 20 days, the number of carjackings had fallen by 87 percent from the same period last year.

“We know that when carjackings go down, when the use of guns goes down, when homicide or robbery go down, neighborhoods feel safer and are safer,” Bowser said. “So this surge has been important to us for that reason.”

Jackson Richman and Victoria Friedman contributed to this report.