The Pentagon plans to keep National Guard troops in D.C. through Jan. 20, 2029, which would make the controversial deployment the longest in American history, two officials told ABC News Thursday.
The plan, which is subject to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s final approval and agency officials said they finalized late last year, would have troops continue to conduct armed patrols in D.C. through the end of President Donald Trump’s second term, U.S. officials told ABC. Trump last extended the guard’s mission in the city through 2026 in January after initially deploying troops last August, making D.C. the last city with a continued National Guard presence after the administration pulled troops in Los Angeles and Chicago amid legal challenges.
D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb has been battling the deployment since he sued to remove the troops in September. A District Court judge originally found the troops’ presence unlawful and ordered for them to leave by Dec. 11, but the U.S. Court of Appeals paused the order in December, allowing the guard to stay in the city while the appeals court weighs the legality of the original order. The appeals court has not yet reached a decision.
Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson said in a statement to ABC News the Department of Defense is committed to supporting Trump’s mission to address the “epidemic of crime” in D.C., but did not confirm the extension of the mission.
Trump initially deployed 800 troops from the D.C. National Guard throughout the District in August in an attempt to rein in crime in a city he said was overrun by “bloodthirsty criminals.” Since the original deployment, the number of troops in D.C. has grown to 2,612, bolstered by guard members from 13 Republican states as of Friday, according to a Joint Task Force D.C. spokesperson. The spokesperson said troops remain focused on their mission dubbed “Make D.C. Safe and Beautiful” by Trump, which includes mobilizing troops to collect trash and remove graffiti throughout the city.
“The D.C. National Guard remains focused on its mission assisting the Metropolitan Police Department and federal partners with monument security, community safety patrols, and the protection of federal facilities,” the spokesperson said in an email. “Our Soldiers continue to provide traffic control and area beautification to safeguard District residents and visitors.”
The spokesperson referred questions about whether the DOD will extend the mission through the rest of Trump’s second term and if more troops will be deployed to D.C. to the DOD.
The DOD and the White House did not return requests for comment.
“The secretary of defense is authorized to mobilize additional National Guard forces, as needed, in coordination with state governors who may be asked to augment this mission,” the spokesperson said.
District residents and leaders have met the deployment, which would become the longest in American history if Hegseth extends it through the end of Trump’s term, with fierce backlash, organizing dozens of protests, revitalizing the “Free D.C.” movement and filing legal challenges saying the deployment violates the city’s home rule.
The longest National Guard deployment in any U.S. city to date came in Wilmington, Delaware in 1968 following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr, where 60,000 National Guard and federal troops suppressed riots in the area and occupied the city for nine months.
Senate Homeland Security Democrats published a report last month stating that the ongoing deployment costs D.C. taxpayers $1.65 million each day, despite the mission proving ineffective at tangibly reducing crime. Experts in policing and online security told The Hatchet in February the report highlights flaws in the guard’s focus on relatively low crime areas and gaps in accountability in measuring the success of the mission.
