The red state push to join the DC occupation

Republican governors are increasingly eager to volunteer their state's National Guard troops for Trump's ostensibly anti-crime siege of the nation's capital

A protester is blown around in the rain as members of the DC National Guard take shelter in their vehicle, outside Union Station during a storm in Washington, DC, on August 17, 2025. US President Donald Trump on August 11 deployed military and federal law enforcement to curb violent crime in Washington, as he seeks to make good on his campaign pledge to be a "law and order" president. The Republican leader said he would place the city's Metropolitan Police under federal government control while also sending the National Guard onto the streets of the US capital.
The White House is moving ahead with its ongoing effort to turn the nation's capital into a militarized zone
(Image credit: Photo by Andrew Caballero-Reynolds / AFP / Getty Images)

President Donald Trump has made it clear that he hopes to export his unprecedented military occupation of Washington, D.C., to other Democrat-led cities across the country. But even as the administration prepares to expand its D.C.-incubated federal takeover of local law enforcement, several red states have already begun taking the MAGA initiative. This weekend, the Republican governors of Ohio, West Virginia and South Carolina announced plans to volunteer hundreds of their respective National Guard troops to the White House's D.C. deployment. Shortly thereafter, Mississippi and Louisiana followed suit.

'American soldiers and airmen policing American citizens on American soil'

It's "unclear why additional troops are needed" in D.C., where members of the Guard have "played a limited role in the federal intervention," said NPR. That the administration would request new troops to aid in the D.C. operation suggests the White House sees a "need for additional manpower" even after Trump "personally played down the need for Washington to hire more police officers."

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Troops already stationed in D.C. have "drawn positive attention from civilians," the National Guard said in a statement released Sunday. Less so from city officials, including Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser. "American soldiers and airmen policing American citizens on American soil is #UnAmerican" said Bowser on X shortly after the trio of red state governors announced their troop contributions.

While National Guard troops stationed in D.C. will not make arrests themselves, said Pentagon spokesperson Kingsley Wilson last week, before the additional deployments were announced, they may nevertheless "temporarily limit the movement of an individual who has entered a restricted or secured area without permission."

'An opportunity' for Trump to 'play dictator'

Efforts to paint Washington, D.C. as wholly free of crime and not in need of intervention are misguided, said Joe Scarborough on MSNBC. At the same time, "bringing National Guardsmen in from red states, in some areas that have higher crime per capita than Washington, D.C.? Not the answer."

The deployment is "total abuse of power," a "manufactured emergency" and an "opportunity for Donald Trump to play dictator in Washington, D.C.," said Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) on ABC's "The Week." Van Hollen joined other Democratic lawmakers last week, said Axios, for a "long-shot joint resolution" aimed at ending Trump's control of the D.C. police force.

Rafi Schwartz, The Week US

Rafi Schwartz has worked as a politics writer at The Week since 2022, where he covers elections, Congress and the White House. He was previously a contributing writer with Mic focusing largely on politics, a senior writer with Splinter News, a staff writer for Fusion's news lab, and the managing editor of Heeb Magazine, a Jewish life and culture publication. Rafi's work has appeared in Rolling Stone, GOOD and The Forward, among others.