() Republican governors in three states have said they will send National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., amid President Donald Trump’s efforts to tamp down crime in the nation’s capital.
The West Virginia National Guard will deploy up to 400 National Guard members to Washington, D.C., with another 200 and 150 National Guard troops coming from South Carolina and Ohio, respectively, according to announcements from those states on Saturday.
These volunteer soldiers will supplement the 800 Guard members already deployed in Washington, under a Trump directive affecting the District of Columbia.
“I’ve authorized the deployment of 200 S.C. National Guardsmen to support President Trump in his mission to restore law and order to our nation’s capital,” South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster said. “Our National Guard will work to assist President Trump’s mission, and should a hurricane or natural disaster threaten our state, they can and will be immediately recalled home to respond.”
In a statement to , the White House said the Secretary of Defense “is authorized to mobilize additional National Guard forces, as needed, in coordination with State Governors who may be asked to augment this mission.”
While the Trump administration has sought to portray the military deployments in Washington as a public safety initiative, critics says it’s a brazen power gab within a largely Democratic city. It follows the Republican president’s federalization earlier this summer of National Guard members in Los Angeles, where protests erupted over his immigration policies.
The White House’s attempts to take control of Washington’s Metroplitan Police Department were rebuffed in court this week after D.C. officials challenged its legality. Now, a federal “designee” will work with the department, under a revised Justice Department plan.
