Washington, DC – A year following President Donald Trump’s deployment of the National Guard to Washington, DC, opinions are sharply divided among residents, politicians, and experts regarding the mission’s success. In August 2025, thousands of troops were dispatched to the city as part of Trump’s Safe and Beautiful Task Force, ostensibly designed to address a perceived surge in crime. The arrival of the soldiers triggered immediate and widespread opposition from many DC residents, manifesting in numerous protests throughout the year. The advocacy group Free DC organized 11 days of demonstrations culminating in a protest outside the White House on Tuesday, demanding what they call a ‘hostile military occupation.’
The group, comprised of approximately 110 individuals, expressed concerns that the deployment is creating a hostile military presence within the city. The deployment has faced significant resistance from legal officials, who have questioned its constitutionality and legality, specifically regarding the use of military force for law enforcement purposes. On September 4, DC Attorney General Brian Schwalb sued the Trump administration, alleging an illegal deployment that utilized military force for law enforcement, violating the Posse Comitatus Act. US District Judge Jia Cobb ruled to end the deployment on November 20, but a federal appeals court later granted the administration’s request for a stay of the order as litigation continues.
DC Mayor Muriel Bowser, whose administration Trump has criticized for soaring crime rates, similarly voiced concerns regarding the legality of the deployment. Bowser stated, “We use the Guard to respond to emergencies, to conduct large-scale events, and to not police our local laws. The deployment is a direct violation of established procedures.” The deployment has also faced resistance from local law enforcement, who report a noticeable absence of troops east of the Anacostia River, where several neighborhoods experience the highest rates of violent crime. The National Guard’s patrol zones have concentrated in high-traffic areas like tourist hubs, such as the National Mall and Union Station.
Despite the high number of troops, local news stations in DC have reported a notable absence of troops east of the Anacostia River, where several neighborhoods have some of the highest violent crime rates in the city. The National Guard has announced a ‘summer surge’ of troops in advance of the 250th anniversary celebrations, requesting an additional 1,500 troops. Aaron Taslitz, a 30-year-old teacher who works as a bike courier in DC, stated that, while he would prefer that military resources be used on something more urgent than roaming the streets, he does feel safer with them around. He added, ‘For the most part, they’ve kept things peaceful and tranquil here.’
Trump has frequently criticized DC, calling it “one of the most unsafe cities anywhere in the world,” and claiming that since the deployment began, crime has dropped by 88 percent. However, the precise impact of the National Guard’s presence on crime rates in Washington, DC, remains unclear. A report from the Niskanen Center in May found that the deployment has had no significant impact on violent crime, which has been in consistent decline in the district over the past few years. However, the report found notable reductions in property crimes, but limited impact on opportunistic crimes.
Although no official cost has been reported for the first year of the operation, the Senate Committee on Homeland Security reported an annual estimate of $602 million. In July, the Pentagon announced plans to keep the Guard in DC through the end of Trump’s term. According to an estimate obtained by Senator Elizabeth Warren, the deployment will cost an additional $1.4 billion from October 2026 to January 2029. The figure comes on top of an already steep deployment cost so far. One service member from the Indiana National Guard, who was deployed for a few months as part of the DC mission in November and asked not to be named, expressed mixed feelings about his time patrolling the streets of DC. He said, ‘My time there was to help the citizens of DC, to provide this service. I took pride in providing this service. It didn’t matter who they were, what they were doing – I was just there to help in any way that I could. I’ve seen people impacted by us in a positive light.’
At other times, though, he said he had his doubts about the mission, noting especially low morale in his unit while they were away from their families during the holiday season. ‘There were days when I was like, ‘What are we doing here? We’re not really doing anything.'”
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Source: Al Jazeera
