
The Pentagon plans to keep a National Guard presence in Washington D.C., until January 20, 2029, through the rest of President Trump’s term.
“The plan is in its final stages and just requires Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s final approval,” ABC News stated.
#Breaking: The Pentagon is looking to extend the National Guard presence in Washington, D.C., for several more years, according to ABC News sources.https://t.co/MaSb9KXDgO
— 7News DC (@7NewsDC) March 19, 2026
ABC News explained further:
Both officials said they expect Hegseth to sign the plan, which was finalized late last year, as Trump has repeatedly characterized the Guard’s mission in D.C. as an enormous success.
“There are no announcements to make at this time,” Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson said in a statement to ABC News, adding that the Defense Department is “committed to supporting the President’s mission to address the epidemic of crime in our Nation’s capital.”
Some 2,865 National Guard troops are currently deployed in D.C., according to National Guard data, all drawn from Republican-led states with the exception of local D.C. Guard units.
656 of the guard members in the nation’s capital are from local D.C. units.
The remainder are from GOP-led states, The Hill noted.
Trump first deployed guard members in D.C. in August 2025 to address crime.
National Guard takes to the streets of DC in support of Trump’s crime crackdown: ‘Reporting for duty’ https://t.co/tM6Q2QjIRg pic.twitter.com/PV1faAQkBZ
— New York Post (@nypost) August 13, 2025
The Hill noted:
The out-of-town members are from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia, though some units rotate in and out while others have maintained a near-continuous presence since August.
Two members of the West Virginia Guard were shot the day before Thanksgiving in November while patrolling in Washington. Spc. Sarah Beckstrom, 20, died of her injuries, while Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe is recovering after he was shot in the head.
In the past year, Trump also has ordered guard troops to Los Angeles and Chicago and attempted to deploy them in Portland, Ore., but such efforts were pulled back or blocked by the courts over sufficient justification for their use.