OAN Staff Lillian Mann
5:15 PM – Thursday, November 5, 2026
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has authorized National Guard troops in Washington, D.C., to use boats, marked police cars and military vehicles to support law enforcement
operations in the nation's capital.
The move was announced in a memo obtained by POLITICO on Thursday with the Pentagon confirming the deployment.
It remains unclear why President Donald Trump's administration decided to expand the deployment at this time, as the memo obtained by POLITICO did not disclose a reason. However, the document reiterates President Trump's mission, first announced in August 2025, to use the National Guard to combat a "crime emergency" in the nation's capital.
The extra security presence will be in place through the end of the year and National Guard members will be deployed through city streets in vehicles typically reserved for battlefields like Iraq and Afghanistan, though they are not allowed to pursue suspects or make arrests.
The memo also stated that the boats will provide "perimeter security" while police target suspected gang leaders and drug traffickers in Anacostia — the city's southeastern neighborhood.
An October Cato Institute report noted that while robberies and theft declined in D.C. following the Guard's deployment, homicides remained unchanged and assaults with dangerous weapons saw a slight increase.
President Trump initially deployed National Guard troops to Washington in August 2025 following his declaration of a "crime emergency" declaration in the capital. After multiple extensions over the past 16 months, the mission is now slated to continue through Inauguration Day 2029.
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