WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has authorized National Guard troops in the District to expand patrols using military police vehicles, tactical vehicles and boats, deepening the military presence in the capital as the deployment faces a court challenge.
Two memoranda signed October 29 and obtained by the Associated Press authorize 60 military police patrol cars, two patrol boats and 20 portable light towers. Some Guard personnel assigned to anti-gang and drug-trafficking operations may carry rifles, though the authorization excludes Metro stations.
The vehicles must be marked as National Guard equipment, and troops must wear uniforms. The memoranda prohibit high-speed vehicle pursuits. Another provision allows a D.C. Guard quick-reaction unit to support the U.S. Marshals Service in protecting federal officials and facilities.
The Pentagon confirmed the authorizations to the Associated Press, describing them as support for the administration’s continuing public-safety mission. Hegseth set a deployment ceiling of 3,500 troops, rather than increasing it; nearly 3,100 Guard members were serving in Washington, the AP reported.
With the takeover of many governor offices by Democrats, pressure is growing on the new elected leaders to withdraw their state’s National Guard units from Washington, D.C. duty.
Local leaders took issue with Hegseth’s announcement. DC City Council member Brooke Pinto said “Boats and more military-grade vehicles and weapons is really the exact opposite of the approach that we need to be taking.”
The District has challenged the deployment as an unlawful use of military personnel in domestic law enforcement. A federal appeals court heard arguments in October after a lower court ruled in the city’s favor.
