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West Virginia, South Carolina, And Ohio Deploy National Guard To D.C. As Federal Crackdown Expands

Three states send hundreds of troops to the capital at the request of the Trump administration, intensifying a federal effort to address crime and homelessness.

Three states are deploying hundreds of their National Guard members to the nation’s capital, bolstering the Trump administration’s ongoing effort to overhaul policing and address crime and homelessness through a federal intervention. The move follows a presidential executive order that federalized local police forces and activated D.C. National Guard troops earlier this week.

Republican governors from West Virginia, South Carolina, and Ohio have pledged a combined force of 650 to 750 troops. West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey announced a deployment of 300 to 400 Guard members, while South Carolina’s Governor Henry McMaster authorized 200, and Ohio’s Governor Mike DeWine said his state would send 150 military police.

The governors have cited a commitment to public safety and support for President Trump’s mission.

“West Virginia is proud to stand with President Trump in his effort to restore pride and beauty to our nation’s capital,” Morrisey said. In contrast, Vermont’s Republican Governor Phil Scott declined a similar request, with his chief of staff stating that the governor “does not support utilizing the guard for this purpose” and does not view the enforcement of domestic law as a proper use of the National Guard.

The new deployments come as federal agents and National Guard members have become a visible presence in the city following President Trump’s Monday executive order. The order declared an emergency due to what the president called the “city government’s failure to maintain public order,” despite local officials noting that violent crime is lower than it was during his first term.

The White House has clarified that the newly deployed Guard members “may be armed” to protect federal assets and provide a visible presence for law enforcement, but they will not be making arrests. This is a reversal from an earlier statement that the Guard members would not be armed.

The federal takeover has met with strong opposition from some residents. A protest drew scores to Dupont Circle on Saturday, with demonstrators marching to the White House behind a banner that read, “No fascist takeover of D.C.”

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, has navigated a precarious position, emphasizing the city’s limited self-governance under federal law while also expressing concern about the president’s actions. In a letter to residents, she wrote that the city’s “limited self-government has never faced the type of test we are facing right now,” and urged Washingtonians to “fight for American democracy.”

The Trump administration’s actions have also faced legal challenges. D.C.’s Attorney General Pam Bond had sued to contest an order that would have placed the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration as an “emergency police commissioner.” While the administration reversed course on that specific order, a memo from the Attorney General has since directed the Metropolitan Police Department to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement.

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