() An increased number of National Guard troops were on the ground in Washington, D.C., overnight Thursday, as the White House expanded its federal enforcement to a 24/7 operation.
The idea of federal officers patrolling the nation’s capital around the clock has spurred protests in D.C., where some residents are recoiling from President Donald Trump’s law enforcement takeover.
Trump has said his public safety emergency could be extended past its original 30-day limit either through an act of Congress or by declaring a national emergency.
On Wednesday, the president said the D.C. enforcement will work as a “We’re going to use it as a very positive example, and we’re going to be asking for extensions on that, long-term extensions, because you can’t have 30 days.”
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Makeshift shelters on a sidewalk in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 11, 2025. President Donald Trump announced he would take federal control of D.C.’s police department and deploy 800 National Guard troops there, escalating his push to exert power over the nation’s capital. (Alex Wroblewski/Bloomberg via Getty Images) -
Members of the D.C. National Guard assemble with military vehicles in front of the Washington Monument as part of President Donald Trump’s crime reduction efforts on Aug. 12, 2025. (Photo by Kyle Mazza/Anadolu via Getty Images) -
Drug Enforcement Administration agents patrol near the Washington Monument on the National Mall on Aug. 11, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images) -
A member of the District of Columbia National Guard arrives at the District of Columbia National Guard Headquarters on Aug. 12, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
More than 100 people have been arrested since Trump’s takeover of the nation’s capital, a White House official told on Wednesday.
Last year, D.C.’s Metropolitan Police averaged 56 arrests per day, according to Reuters, nearly triple the average daily arrests since Trump’s effort began.
Nearly 1,500 officers participated in enforcement efforts Tuesday night, and new video footage posted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement showed special agents working alongside the U.S. Park Police along the National Mall, as a helicopter flies overhead.
DC’s homeless population faces removal and potential fines, jail time
Homeless people living at an encampment near the Kennedy Center could be evicted Thursday. If they refuse to move, people could see their tents torn down and face fines or jail time.
Maj. Adam Rios, an Idaho Army National Guard officer who was once homeless, told the issue of homelessness is complex and doesn’t end after streets are swept.
“The problem, I think, is ideological. It has to do with a lot of sense of safety … and to be able to target exactly what you’re trying to target. How do you distinguish between the homeless and those that are behaving badly, those who are criminal?” Rios said.
‘s Anna Kutz and Michael Ramsey contributed to this report.
