Last week, a federal judge ruled that the Trump Administration’s deployment of more than 2,000 National Guard troops in Washington, D.C., was illegal. But after a Wednesday shooting that resulted in one National Guard servicemember being killed and another hospitalized in critical condition, President Donald Trump has ordered the deployment of an additional 500 troops.
“America will never bend and never yield in the face of terror, and at the same time, we will not be deterred from the mission these servicemembers were so nobly fulfilling,” Trump said in a video address on Wednesday night.
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Trump’s expansive use of military powers has been criticized by legal experts, lawmakers and many others who argue that the President is unlawfully using the military for domestic law enforcement, including in assisting with immigration operations, on the pretext of cracking down on crime. Trump also deployed the National Guard during his first term, when he sent 5,000 troops to D.C. alongside law enforcement officers to crack down on peaceful protests during the Black Lives Matter movement, including clearing Lafayette Park in front of the White House and tear-gassing demonstrators.
Here’s what to know about the current deployments across the country and where things stand after Wednesday’s shooting.
Troops in D.C.
On Aug. 11, Trump declared a public safety emergency in D.C., invoking section 740 of the District of Columbia’s 1973 Home Rule Act in order to place the D.C. police department under federal control, and deployed 800 D.C. National Guard troops in the city.
The effort, he said, was to reduce crime and “beautify” the capital, including by removing homeless encampments. Violent crime hit a 30-year low last year, according to the city’s attorney general’s office, and has fallen another 28% so far this year, according to city police data. Crime as a whole is down 16% from last year, including having fallen 7% from last year at the time of Trump’s deployment.
A total of 2,188 National Guard troops have been assigned to the joint task force that now oversees policing of D.C., according to a government update reported by the Associated Press. Those numbers comprise 949 D.C. National Guard troops, as well as close to 1,200 troops from several states, including West Virginia, where the two National Guard servicemembers who were critically wounded in Wednesday’s shooting were from.
On Nov. 10, a West Virginia judge dismissed a lawsuit challenging Republican Gov. Patrick Morrisey’s decision to send troops to D.C. at Trump’s request. The lawsuit, which was brought by the American Civil Liberties Union in West Virginia, alleged that the deployment violated state law.
Troops stationed in D.C. have been given a range of tasks, from carrying out armed patrols around monuments, public parks, and metro stations to cleaning up the city. According to a task force update in early October, unarmed troops had cleared 1,099 bags of trash and spread 1,045 cubic yards of mulch, among other beautification efforts like removing graffiti and cleaning parks.
Some troops are armed with handguns or rifles. The military only allows troops to use force “as a last resort and solely in response to an imminent threat of death or serious bodily harm,” according to the joint task force.
Troops in D.C. cannot conduct full-scale law enforcement actions such as searches and arrests. They are, however, allowed to temporarily detain people who pose imminent threats.
The Trump Administration has cited a decrease in crime as evidence of the National Guard’s success in the capital. At Tuesday’s annual White House turkey pardoning ceremony, Trump claimed, “We haven’t had a murder in six months” in D.C. In fact, there have been 62 homicides in D.C. since May, including 24 since the troops’ deployment, although homicides in the past six months are down 46% from the same period last year.
Trump’s control of D.C. police expired on Sept. 10, but National Guard troops have remained in the city without a clear end in sight. At the end of last month, the D.C. National Guard had its deployment renewed till Feb. 28. Several states have already withdrawn some of their servicemembers, while others have said they plan to withdraw them by Nov. 30 unless orders are extended.
Trump has also threatened D.C. with another federal takeover since his control ended, if the city’s police department does not cooperate with Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Trump has directed ICE to carry out sweeping immigration raids as part of his mass deportation campaign. The controversial immigration actions have affected thousands of international students with legal status in the country, workers in factories, and revoked protections of “sensitive” locations like schools and churches.
Where else troops are deployed
National Guard troops have also been deployed in several other Democratic-led cities, with the Trump Administration citing the need to reduce crime and protect federal immigration officers and facilities.
In June, Trump deployed 2,000 troops to the city of Los Angeles this summer to clamp down on protests against immigration raids. A federal judge in California ruled in September that the deployment was illegal, which the Trump Administration has appealed.
On Sept. 15, Trump announced that he would deploy troops to Memphis, Tenn., but the order was temporarily blocked by a Tennessee judge on Nov. 17 on the basis that the deployment violates the state constitution.
Later that month, Trump threatened to send National Guard troops to Portland, Ore., which immediately prompted a legal challenge by the city and the state of Oregon. Karin Immergut, a Trump-appointed U.S. District Court judge, temporarily blocked the deployment of National Guard troops from Oregon or any other state in October. On Nov. 7, Immergut issued a permanent injunction blocking the deployment.
A federal appeals court allowed Trump to retain some control over Oregon National Guard troops in an order last week that came after Oregon’s Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek announced that all troops would be demobilized. The Trump Administration’s appeal over the deployment is still being reviewed.
In October, Trump deployed 300 Illinois National Guard troops to Chicago with the stated aim of protecting federal immigration operations amid protests against ICE. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, a Democrat, objected to the deployment and called it a “manufactured performance.” A federal judge in Chicago temporarily barred the deployment on Oct. 9, which was extended indefinitely on Oct. 22. Trump has asked the Supreme Court to reverse the block.
Trump has also threatened to deploy troops to New York, Baltimore, New Orleans, St. Louis, and Charlotte, N.C.
Judge orders end of deployment
A federal judge ruled on Nov. 20 that Trump’s deployment of D.C. National Guard troops “for the deterrence of crime” was illegal. U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb noted in her 61-page ruling that Trump’s power as commander in chief of the National Guard was still constrained by legal limits on how military troops can be deployed on American soil, especially as D.C. is governed by Congress.
“The Court rejects Defendants’ fly-by assertion of constitutional power, finding that such a broad reading of the President’s Article II authority would erase Congress’s role in governing the District and its National Guard,” Cobb wrote.
The District of Columbia had filed the lawsuit challenging the deployment in August, alleging that the Trump Administration violated federal law and D.C. code by deploying the National Guard to perform non-military, crime-deterrance missions without a request from the city’s civil authorities.
In particular, plaintiffs cited the 1878 Posse Comitatus Act, which restricts the military from conducting law enforcement functions on U.S. soil. Plaintiffs also argued that Trump had violated D.C.’s Home Rule Act—which he had invoked in his federal takeover. The Home Rule Act provides D.C. with limited self-governance and sets forth the conditions required for a federal takeover.
Cobb also ruled in favor of the plaintiffs that the Trump Administration did not have statutory authority to deploy out-of-state National Guard troops to D.C.
Cobb put her order on hold until Dec. 11, giving the Trump Administration 21 days to either remove the troops or appeal her decision. The Trump Administration filed a notice of appeal on Tuesday and filed an emergency motion on Wednesday after the shooting. The Administration argued that the deployment was “plainly lawful,” citing Trump’s authority as Commander-in-Chief over the D.C. National Guard.
“Even without express statutory authorization, he may deploy them to a federal enclave for federal purposes without judicial second-guessing,” the appeal argued.
What comes next
Trump announced on Wednesday that he would send an additional 500 National Guard troops to D.C. Although Cobb’s ruling undercuts the legal basis of Trump’s additional deployment, her order does not take effect until Dec. 11, so troops are allowed to remain in the capital—and more can be mobilized—for the time being. What happens after Dec. 11 is uncertain and depends on the Trump Administration’s ongoing appeal.
“President Trump has asked me, and I will ask the secretary of the Army to the National Guard, to add 500 additional troops—National Guardsman—to Washington, D.C.,” Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said.
“We will never back down. We will secure our capital. We will secure our cities,” Hegseth added. “If criminals want to conduct things like this—violence against America’s best—we will never back down.”