After President Donald Trump’s arbitrary declaration of high crime in Washington D.C., National Guard troops from Heartland States have begun their deployment to the capitol on taxpayers’ dime.
Republican governors in Ohio (150 troops), West Virginia (300), Louisiana (135), South Carolina (200), Tennessee (160) and Mississippi (200) are sending hundreds of National Guard troops to Washington D.C. The move comes after President Donald Trump declared a crime emergency in the nation’s capital and federalized the city’s police force.
According to CNN, Trump has also deployed 800 members of the D.C. National Guard to the city to address his concerns over high rates of violent crime, which are lower than they were last year. Reports indicate that armed troops are patrolling the streets. These efforts have seen pushback from Mayor Muriel Bowser, who made an X post last week calling the effort unamerican.
American soldiers and airmen policing American citizens on American soil is #UnAmerican.
— Muriel Bowser (@MurielBowser) August 17, 2025
Washington D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb also questioned how armed soldiers in the streets acting as a police force could undermine public safety and democracy.
Let us be clear: armed soldiers should not be policing American citizens on American soil.
Instead of making DC more secure, it undermines public safety and endangers our democracy.
It’s DC today, but the same dangerous strategy can be deployed to occupy any American community.
— AG Brian Schwalb (@DCAttorneyGen) August 19, 2025
Trump’s move spawned a new wave of protests in D.C., claiming that the president is overstepping his authority.
In a statement, West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey (R) revealed that the deployment of his National Guard troops would be funded at the federal level. South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster (R) indicated a similar sentiment, saying his troops will return if Hurricane Erin “threatens” his state.
The total cost of the troop deployment is currently unknown. When Trump sent nearly 5,000 troops in response to anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles earlier this year, the Pentagon estimated the total cost in the range of $134 million for the 60-day deployment.