Trump's order to deploy troops in DC is his latest use of the National Guard in cities
Trump's directive on Monday for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to activate the National Guard is just the latest example of him sending the Guard into cities to support immigration enforcement or fight crime over the objection of local and state officials.
How the National Guard deployment in DC will work
According to the Army, Guard troops will be deployed under Title 32, or 'federal-state status' authority. That means the troops can conduct law enforcement activities on the streets of the nation's capital — though, at the moment, that doesn't appear to be the plan.
'Their duties will include an array of tasks from administrative, logistics and physical presence in support of law enforcement,' according to a statement from the Army, to which the District of Columbia National Guard directed all questions.
About 500 federal law enforcement officers are being assigned to patrols in Washington, including from the FBI; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Drug Enforcement Administration; Immigration and Customs Enforcement; and the Marshals Service.
Hegseth told reporters that Guard members will be 'flowing into the streets of Washington in the coming week.' He also said the Pentagon was 'prepared to bring in other National Guard units — other specialized units,' though he didn't offer any further details.
The timeline for the troop deployment also is vaguely defined. According to Trump's directive, National Guard troops will remain deployed until the president determines 'that conditions of law and order have been restored.'
Besides the 800 Guard members, Trump said 'we will bring in the military if it's needed' — seemingly referring to active duty troops in addition to the Guard — but added that 'I don't think we'll need it.'
Trump recently sent Guard troops and Marines to Los Angeles
The deployment of troops to Washington comes after the Pentagon has pulled out the vast majority of the roughly 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 active duty Marines that Trump sent to Los Angeles in late June.
Trump argued that the deployment was necessary after his administration's immigration crackdown led to protests throughout the city. Troops were largely tasked with protecting federal buildings and guarding immigration agents as they conducted raids.
Hegseth compared plans to send troops into the nation's capital to their deployment to the U.S.-Mexico border and to Los Angeles.
'We will work alongside all D.C. police and federal law enforcement,' Hegseth said.
However, California's governor and city officials argued that the LA deployment was unnecessary and went to court to try to fight it.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass told reporters that the National Guard's primary mission had been to guard two buildings that 'frankly didn't need to be guarded.'
In addition, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, also a Democrat, has questioned the effectiveness of using the Guard to enforce city laws.
'I just think that's not the most efficient use of our Guard,' she said Sunday on MSNBC's 'The Weekend.'
Trump deployed the Guard to Washington in his first term
This is also not the first time Trump unilaterally has chosen to use federal forces in the U.S. capital.
In 2020, during the protests over the police killing of George Floyd, Trump deployed the National Guard and federal law enforcement to the city, at one point using them to forcibly clear peaceful protesters from a square near the White House so he could stage a photo op.
It became a controversial moment in his first administration in part because Gen. Mark Milley, who was then chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, appeared alongside Trump. Some saw Milley's presence as the military's endorsement of using troops against U.S. citizens. Milley later apologized.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
a minute ago
- Yahoo
Goldman economist, uncowed by Trump attack, plans to 'keep doing' as before
(Reuters) -A top economist for Goldman Sachs on Wednesday signaled no plans to change how his team conducts and publishes its research after President Donald Trump lashed out at the Wall Street firm and its chief executive because of the research team's estimate that American consumers would bear the brunt of the costs of Trump's tariffs. Chief U.S. Economist David Mericle's defense of his team's work came a day after Trump in a social media post said Goldman Chief Executive David Solomon should "not bother running a major financial institution" and lambasted the bank's economics research. The report Trump attacked, published August 10, estimated that U.S. consumers so far have borne less than a quarter of the cost of Trump's tariffs but that share would rise to two-thirds if the tariffs play out in the same way they had previously. Trump, by contrast, insists that foreign companies and governments are absorbing the cost of tariffs that now average the highest in about a century, and that American households are unscathed. He attacked Goldman and its economists for making "a bad prediction." Asked in a CNBC interview whether Trump's broadside had had a chilling effect on his team's work, Mericle said: "We're just trying to do the best economic forecast that we can for our clients, and we publish research reports like the one that we published over the weekend to inform those views. And we'll keep doing that."
Yahoo
a minute ago
- Yahoo
Trump's search to replace Fed Chair Powell continues as new report says up to 11 names under consideration
The Trump administration is broadening its search for the next Federal Reserve chair, with reports suggesting as many as 11 candidates may be in the running to replace Jerome Powell when his term expires in May. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who is leading the search and interview process for the next Fed chair, said the administration is casting a "very wide net" for candidates. "The president has a very open mind," Bessent told the Fox Business Network on Tuesday. "He even considered Janet, reappointing Janet Yellen [in 2017], so we want to see what everyone's thinking," he said. "It's not ideological. It's about economics, what's best for the American people, what's best for the economy." The broadening search marks an evolution since last week, when Trump said he had narrowed down his list of candidates to three or four people. A report from CNBC on Wednesday morning citing two administration officials said Trump is now weighing up to 11 candidates to replace Powell, including Jefferies chief market strategist David Zervos and BlackRock chief investment officer for global fixed income Rick Rieder. BlackRock had no comment on the report. Read more: How the Fed rate decision affects your bank accounts, loans, credit cards, and investments "President Trump will continue to nominate the most competent and experienced individuals to deliver on his pledge to Make America Wealthy Again. Unless it comes from President Trump himself, however, any discussion about personnel decisions should be regarded as pure speculation," White House spokesperson Kush Desai told Yahoo Finance. Last week, President Trump suggested in a CNBC interview that the pool of potential nominees to succeed Powell was down to four people, but he said Bessent had asked not to be nominated for the role. The president suggested that both former Fed governor Kevin Warsh and National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett were at the top of the list. When asked about Fed governor Chris Waller, Trump didn't deny that Waller was among the four possible replacements for Powell. Former St. Louis Fed president Jim Bullard, Fed governor Michelle Bowman, Fed vice chair Philip Jefferson, Dallas Fed president Lorie Logan, and former Bush administration official Marc Summerlin, and former Fed governor Larry Lindsey are all also considered to be in the running. Meanwhile, the president nominated Stephen Miran, current chair of the president's Council of Economic Advisers, to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors last week to replace Fed governor Adriana Kugler, who stepped down on Aug. 8. If confirmed by the Senate, Miran's term will run until Jan. 31, 2026. Bessent told Fox Business that Miran's appointment will "change the composition of the Fed" and suggested Miran could be renominated to a full term on the Fed board. He also said that the administration will have two seats on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors to fill, assuming that when Powell's term as Fed chair expires next May, he will also step down from his position on the Board of Governors, which does not end until January 2028. Powell has not said what he plans to do. These changes at the central bank come as markets now expect the Fed to cut interest rates at its September meeting after electing to keep rates unchanged last month. Fed governors Waller and Bowman both voted in favor of a rate cut and later expanded on their views in statements issued in early August. San Francisco Fed president Mary Daly and Minneapolis Fed president Neel Kashkari, neither of whom are voting members of the FOMC in 2025, have also said since the Fed's July 31 announcement that the case for rate cuts has strengthened. Powell's next major public appearance is expected on Aug. 22 at the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium.
Yahoo
a minute ago
- Yahoo
‘Viable chance' of ceasefire in Ukraine thanks to Trump, says Starmer
Donald Trump's interventions over the Ukraine war have created a 'viable' chance of a ceasefire but the UK stands ready to 'increase pressure' on Russia if necessary, Sir Keir Starmer has said. In a call with allies on Wednesday, the Prime Minister said the meeting between the US president and Russian leader Vladimir Putin is 'hugely important' with the prospect of a truce in sight. Co-chairing a meeting of the so-called 'coalition of the willing' – a European-led effort to prepare a peacekeeping force to monitor any potential ceasefire in Ukraine – Sir Keir said: 'This meeting on Friday that President Trump is attending is hugely important. 'As I've said firstly to President Trump for the three-and-a-bit years this conflict has been going on, we haven't got anywhere near a prospect of actually a viable solution, a viable way of bringing it to a ceasefire. 'And now we have that chance, because of the work of the president.'
