President Donald Trump extends National Guard deployment in Washington, D.C. until 2029

President Donald Trump has ordered that the National Guard deployment in Washington, D.C. be extended for more than two years, with the Pentagon confirming the mission will remain in place until Jan. 20 2029 or until the president terminates it. The deployment began after an August 2025 executive order declared a "crime emergency" and called up roughly 2,500 Guard troops and federal law‑enforcement officers. Guard members have performed medical‑emergency response, assisted with arrests, snow‑removal and city beautification projects.

The continuation is controversial. District of Columbia Council chairman Phil Mendelson said, "Taxpayers are paying more than a million dollars a day to have them walk around," and local officials argue that crime was already declining before the Guard arrived. The White House claims the joint task force has made about 12,000 arrests, seized thousands of illegal firearms and captured 62 known gang members, while critics dispute the credit given to the Guard. A Guard soldier, Spc. Sarah Beckstrom, was killed and Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe wounded in a November shooting by a gunman who drove from Washington state to the capital. Deployments in other cities have ended or been paused, but Guard personnel continue patrolling streets, metro stations, tourist sites and parks in the capital.