Less than six months after President Donald Trump deployed the National Guard to Washington, DC, the mission is becoming more perilous and complex — and perhaps more permanent.
After last month’s shooting near the White House left one National Guard member dead and another critically wounded, some troops are now conducting joint patrols with local police, a move intended to provide more security to the very people sent to make the city safer.
Yet, even as the price tag is mounting – officials estimate the DC mission costs roughly $1.5 million per day – and the impact on reducing overall crime is mixed, officials say expectations are rising that the deployment of troops will continue.
In a win for the Trump administration, a US appeals court last week froze a judge’s previous ruling that the deployment was unlawful — potentially paving the way for a mission that is likely months, if not years longer.
National Guard leaders are recruiting for a smaller full-time unit that will include military police deployed to DC as part of a two-year plan, according to a federal military official. Another source familiar with the planning compared a potential long-term guard presence in DC to the New York National Guard’s anti-terrorism task force, stationed at transit hubs since the September 11 terror attacks.
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