National Guard troops on DC streets for Trump’s crackdown will start carrying guns
August 22, 2025
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered National Guard troops to start carrying firearms while patrolling the streets of Washington for President Donald Trump’s law enforcement crackdown. The Defense Department didn’t offer any other details Friday about the development or why it’s needed. Hegseth referred to it as “common sense.” It’s an escalation in Trump’s intervention into policing in the nation’s capital and comes as nearly 2,000 National Guard members are stationed in the heavily Democratic city. Hundreds of the troops have arrived this week from Republican-led states. The Pentagon says troops will carry their service-issued weapons. Trump has boasted that D.C. is safer than ever.