The Pentagon confirmed on Tuesday that the National Guard deployment in Washington, D.C., has been extended through Inauguration Day in January 2029. The mission, part of President Trump's "D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force," currently involves approximately 5,000 troops from more than 20 states. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the deployment costs an estimated $3 million per day.
President Trump initially ordered the deployment in August 2025 after declaring a crime emergency in the district. While the emergency declaration expired a month later, federal officials launched a "summer surge" in May 2024 to increase the law enforcement presence. Under the current mission, National Guard members are deputized as special police by the U.S. Marshals Service. They are authorized to carry firearms and detain individuals, though they do not have the authority to make formal arrests.
The extension has drawn criticism from constitutional experts and civil liberties advocates. Elizabeth Goitein of the Brennan Center for Justice stated that a multi-year extension contradicts the definition of an emergency and expressed concern regarding the normalization of military personnel in domestic policing. Supporters of the mission, including the president, have cited the presence as a factor in maintaining public safety. Legal challenges to the deployment were previously dismissed by a Federal Appeals Court late last year.