Hegseth says DC National Guard will not be involved in law enforcement functions but he'll ‘have their back' if they need to ‘temporarily detain' criminals
The Pentagon chief said Guardsmen from DC and 'other states' will be deployed to the district 'this week and in coming weeks' and act as 'force multipliers' for local and federal law enforcement, in an interview on Fox News' 'The Ingraham Angle.'
3 Hegseth said it will be up to Trump how long the National Guard remains on the streets of Washington, DC.
AFP via Getty Images
Advertisement
'Under Title 32, which is the authorization they'll be using, they have broad latitude, but they're not going to be involved in law enforcement functions,' Hegseth continued, likening the military's role in DC to the June deployment of National Guard and US Marine service members to Los Angeles to protect federal law enforcement from protesters during immigration raids.
'They will be standing right alongside our federal agents, like they were in Los Angeles. They're going to be proactive. If you take an action or a shot at them, there will be a consequence,' he said.
When asked by host Laura Ingraham what National Guard troops will do if they see a crime in progress, Hegseth responded, 'They can come alongside and assist law enforcement.'
Advertisement
'What if law enforcement isn't on that corner?' Ingraham pressed.
'I will have their back to ensure they can take the necessary action to protect citizens of DC and to protect themselves,' the defense secretary said.
'There's no rogue law enforcement going on from the National Guard,' Hegseth insisted. 'But there's also the application of common sense.'
3 Hegseth likened the DC mobilization to the deployment of some 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 US Marines to Los Angeles earlier this summer.
Getty Images
Advertisement
'We're not going to have the National Guard just sitting there … seeing a crime committed [and] not do something about it.'
'You can help somebody interdict, temporarily detain, like we did in Los Angeles, and hand over to law enforcement those types of things,' he continued. 'The National Guard can be trained to do that.'
President Trump activated 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marine service members to California in June amid violent anti-ICE riots in Los Angeles.
By July 1, nearly all of the National Guard members and Marines had been released, with around 300 still in the city.
Advertisement
3 Hegseth indicated that Guardsmen in DC would be able to 'temporarily detain' individuals if they see a crime in progress and local police aren't around.
Allison Bailey/NurPhoto/Shutterstock
Hegseth did not say how many Guardsmen would be activated in DC, or how long they will patrol the city.
'I would call this 'conditions-based,'' he said. 'I would say it's a situation where we're here to support law enforcement, and the more we can free them up to do their job, the more effective they can be.'
'I don't know – weeks, months? What will it take? That's the president's call, but we're going to be there for him to execute as swiftly as possible.'
The president has direct control over DC's National Guard, unlike every other unit, which is under the authority of state governors.
Trump signed an executive order Monday mobilizing the DC National Guard as part of an effort aimed at 'restoring law and order in the District of Columbia.'
'Washington, DC, should be one of the safest, cleanest and most beautiful cities anywhere in the world,' Trump said of his plans, 'and we're going to make it that.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
30 minutes ago
Melania Trump demands Hunter Biden retract 'extremely salacious' Epstein comments
WASHINGTON -- First lady Melania Trump demanded that Hunter Biden retract comments linking her to sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein and threatened to sue if he does not. Trump takes issue with two comments Biden, son of former President Joe Biden, made in an interview this month with British journalist Andrew Callaghan. He alleged that Epstein introduced the first lady to now-President Donald Trump. The statements are false, defamatory and 'extremely salacious,' Melania Trump's lawyer, Alejandro Brito, wrote in a letter to Biden. Biden's remarks were widely disseminated on social media and reported by media outlets around the world, causing the first lady 'to suffer overwhelming financial and reputational harm,' he wrote. Biden made the Epstein comments during a sprawling interview in which he lashed out at 'elites' and others in the Democratic Party he says undermined his father before he dropped out of last year's presidential campaign. 'Epstein introduced Melania to Trump. The connections are, like, so wide and deep,' Biden said in one of the comments Trump disputes. Biden attributed the claim to author Michael Wolff, whom Trump disparaged in June as a 'Third Rate Reporter.' He has accused Wolff of making up stories to sell books. The first lady's threats echo a favored strategy of her husband, who has aggressively used litigation to go after critics. Public figures like the Trumps face a high bar to succeed in a defamation lawsuit. The president and first lady have long said they were introduced by Paolo Zampolli, a modeling agent, at a New York Fashion Week party in 1998. The letter is dated Aug. 6 and was first reported Wednesday by Fox News Digital. Abbe Lowell, a lawyer who has represented Biden in his criminal cases and to whom Brito's letter is addressed, did not immediately respond to a request for comment late Wednesday.
New York Post
30 minutes ago
- New York Post
DC residents protest as White House says federal agents will be on patrol 24/7
Residents in one Washington, DC, neighborhood lined up Wednesday to protest the increased police presence after the White House said the number of National Guard troops in the nation's capital would ramp up and federal officers would be on the streets around the clock. After law enforcement set up a vehicle checkpoint along the busy 14th Street Northwest corridor, hecklers shouted, 'Go home, fascists' and 'Get off our streets.' Some protesters stood at the intersection before the checkpoint and urged drivers to turn away from it. The action intensified a few days after President Donald Trump's unprecedented announcement that his administration would take over the city's police department for at least a month. 10 Protesters take to the streets holding signs near a traffic checkpoint run by Homeland Security agents and Washington Metropolitan Police officers along 14th Street in northwest Washington, DC, on Aug. 13, 2025. AP The city's Democratic mayor walked a political tightrope, referring to the takeover as an 'authoritarian push' at one point and later framing the infusion of officers as boost to public safety, though one with few specific barometers for success. The Republican president has said crime in the city was at emergency levels that only such federal intervention could fix — even as District of Columbia leaders pointed to statistics showing violent crime at a 30-year low after a sharp rise two years ago. For two days, small groups of federal officers had been visible in scattered areas of the city. But more were present in high-profile locations Wednesday and troops were expected to start doing more missions in Washington on Thursday, according to a National Guard spokesman who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the planning process. On Wednesday, agents from Homeland Security Investigations patrolled the popular U Street corridor. Drug Enforcement Administration officers were seen on the National Mall, while National Guard members were parked nearby. 10 Federal agents and DC Metro Police conduct a traffic checkpoint on Aug. 13, 2025. AP 10 Protesters yell at federal agents on 14th Street during a joint checkpoint operation. AP DEA agents also joined Metropolitan Police Department officers on patrol in the Navy Yard neighborhood, while FBI agents stood along the heavily trafficked Massachusetts Avenue. Hundreds of federal law enforcement and city police officers who patrolled the streets Tuesday night made 43 arrests, compared with about two dozen the night before. DC Councilmember Christina Henderson downplayed the arrest reports as 'a bunch of traffic stops' and said the administration was seeking to disguise how unnecessary this federal intervention is. 'I'm looking at this list of arrests and they sound like a normal Saturday night in any big city,' said Henderson. 10 A protester holds up a white sign that reads 'ICE' warning drivers of a traffic checkpoint up the road. AP 10 Metropolitan police detain a driver during the joint checkpoint on Aug. 13, 2025, on 14th Street in Washington, DC. AP Unlike in other US states and cities, the law gives Trump the power to take over Washington's police for up to 30 days. Extending his power over the city for longer would require approval from Congress, and that could be tough in the face of Democratic resistance. Trump suggested he could seek a longer period of control or decide to call on Congress to exercise authority over city laws his administration sees as lax on crime. 'We're gonna do this very quickly. But we're gonna want extensions. I don't want to call a national emergency. If I have to, I will,' he said. 10 Metro Police and Homeland Security Investigations agents search the vehicle of a person detained during a traffic stop in Washington DC. REUTERS 10 A driver is handcuffed by Metro Transit police during a traffic stop for a driver's license issue. REUTERS Later, on his Truth Social site, Trump reiterated his claims about the capital, writing, 'DC has been under siege from thugs and killers, but now, DC is back under Federal Control where it belongs.' Henderson, who worked for Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York before running for the DC Council, said she was already in touch with 'friends on the Hill' to rally opposition for any Trump extension request. She added, 'It's Day Three and he's already saying he's going to need more time?' Targeting a variety of infractions The arrests made by 1,450 federal and local officers across the city included those for suspicion of driving under the influence and unlawful entry, as well as a warrant for assault with a deadly weapon, according to the White House. Seven illegal firearms were seized. 10 National Guard members gather at the US Park Police Anacostia Operations Facility after their deployment in Washington DC on Aug. 13, 2025. REUTERS There have now been more than 100 arrests since Trump began beefing up the federal law enforcement presence in Washington last week, White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said. 'President Trump is delivering on his campaign promise to clean up this city and restore American Greatness to our cherished capital,' she said. The president has full command of the National Guard and has activated up to 800 troops to support law enforcement, though exactly what form remains to be determined. Neither Army nor District of Columbia National Guard officials have been able to describe the training backgrounds of the troops who have so far reported for duty. While some members are military police, others likely hold jobs that would have offered them little training in dealing with civilians or law enforcement. The federalization push also includes clearing out encampments for people who are homeless, Trump has said. US Park Police have removed dozens of tents since March, and plan to take out two more this week, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has said. People are offered the chance to go to shelters and get addiction treatment, if needed, but those who refuse could be fined or jailed, she said. City officials said they are making more shelter space available and increasing their outreach. 10 Police officers search the bag of a driver detained during a traffic stop. REUTERS 10 Metropolitan Police and Department of Homeland Security Investigations agents set up a traffic checkpoint along 14th Street on Aug. 13, 2025. AP Violent crime has dropped in the district The federal effort comes even after a drop in violent crime in the nation's capital, a trend that experts have seen in cities across the US since an increase during the coronavirus pandemic. On average, the level of violence Washington remains mostly higher than averages in three dozen cities analyzed by the nonprofit Council on Criminal Justice, said the group's president and CEO, Adam Gelb. Police Chief Pamela Smith said during an interview with the local Fox affiliate that the city's Metro Police Department has been down nearly 800 officers. She said the increased number of federal agents on the streets would help fill that gap, at least for now. Mayor Muriel Bowser said city officials did not get any specific goals for the surge during a meeting with Trump's attorney general, Pam Bondi, and other top federal law enforcement officials Tuesday. But, she said, 'I think they regard it as a success to have more presence and take more guns off the street, and we do too.' She had previously called Trump's moves 'unsettling and unprecedented' while pointing out he was within a president's legal rights regarding the district, which is the seat of American government but is not a state. For some residents, the increased presence of law enforcement and National Guard troops is nerve-wracking. 'I've seen them right here at the subway … they had my street where I live at blocked off yesterday, actually,' Washington native Sheina Taylor said. 'It's more fearful now because even though you're a law-abiding citizen, here in DC, you don't know, especially because I'm African American.'
Bloomberg
31 minutes ago
- Bloomberg
India Scours the Globe for More Oil Ahead of Trump-Putin Summit
Refiners in India, the world's top importer of seaborne Russian crude, are scouring the globe for alternative supplies, hedging their bets ahead of a summit between the US and Russian leaders. President Donald Trump, eager to gain traction in talks with Vladimir Putin, has demanded that India stop purchases of cut-price crude that fuels the Kremlin's 'the war machine,' and last week doubled tariffs on the country's goods as punishment. The move left refiners in the world's third-largest oil consumer looking to switch up their procurement plans.
