Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz pulls National Guard troops out of Washington, D.C. early

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz ordered the state’s National Guard units to leave Washington, D.C. ahead of the scheduled America 250 celebrations after video footage showed guard members patrolling residential neighborhoods far from the National Mall. The troops had been deployed under Title 32 status with the explicit purpose of supporting the festivities, but activists from Free D.C. documented them armed with handguns at distant locations. Walz’s decision follows criticism from civil‑rights groups and legal experts who argue that the broader federal Joint Task Force, created by President Trump in 2025, uses the Guard for extensive law‑enforcement duties that exceed the states’ intended roles. Democratic governors from Kentucky, North Carolina, Michigan, Maryland and Hawaii have similarly limited or withdrawn their guards, emphasizing that they are not part of the federal policing mission.