Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said the Trump administration will deploy 500 additional National Guard troops to Washington, D.C.
Vice President J.D. Vance asks for prayers for victims of DC shooting
Vice President J.D. Vance, addressing service members, asked for prayers for the two National Guardsmen who were shot.
WASHINGTON – Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth says the Trump administration will deploy 500 additional National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., in response to the shooting of a Guardsman two blocks from the White House on Nov. 26.
“This only further strengthens our resolve to keep Washington, D.C., safe and beautiful,” Hegseth told reporters.
Following cuts in recent weeks, about 2,200 National Guard troops are currently stationed in Washington, D.C., after President Donald Trump launched a crime crackdown in the nation’s capital in August. The proposed increase would increase the mission to approximately 2,700 personnel.
President Trump hailed the National Guard deployment to Washington, D.C., as a huge success in combating crime and a model for future deployments to cities such as Portland, Oregon and Chicago. But President Trump this week exaggerated the drop in crime, falsely claiming there have been no murders in Washington, D.C., in the past six months.
According to the Washington DC Metropolitan Police Department, there have been 123 homicides in Washington, DC this year. Last week, Washington, D.C., police announced an investigation into a fatal shooting that occurred on Nov. 19. According to the Washington DC Metropolitan Police Department, homicides in 2025 will be 29% lower than in 2024, but crime rates were already on the decline before President Trump’s intervention.
“The decline in crime is historic,” Hegseth said. “Improvements in safety and security are historic. But if criminals are willing to commit acts like this, violence against the best of America, we will never back down. President Trump will never back down. That’s why the American people elected him.”
Two members of the West Virginia National Guard are in critical condition after being ambushed near the White House in downtown Washington, D.C., nearly two blocks from the White House.
X Contact Joey Garrison at @joeygarrison.
(This story has been updated with more information.)
