National Guard troops will remain deployed on the streets of Washington, D.C., through the end of the year, according to a memo reviewed by the Associated Press. The memo, signed Wednesday by Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, states that “the conditions of the mission” justify extending the deployment beyond next month to continue supporting President Trump’s ongoing efforts to restore law and order in the nation’s capital.
At the same time, President Trump has at least temporarily backed away from plans to deploy National Guard troops to Chicago, Los Angeles, and Portland, Oregon—moves that had triggered legal challenges in those cities.
Because Washington, D.C., is a federally established district, the president has far greater authority over its law enforcement and National Guard than he does in the states. This allows President Trump to directly control the D.C. National Guard and avoid many of the legal obstacles he has encountered elsewhere, according to the AP.
President Trump activated 800 members of the D.C. National Guard in August under an emergency order. That force was quickly reinforced by Guard units from states led by Republican governors. There are currently about 2,600 National Guard troops in Washington, including roughly 700 from D.C. and others from 11 states such as Indiana, South Carolina, Florida, Mississippi, and Oklahoma.
The mission expanded beyond its original focus on crime reduction to include city maintenance and beautification. In an early October update, the task force overseeing the deployment reported that troops cleared 1,150 bags of trash, spread 1,045 cubic yards of mulch, removed 50 truckloads of plant debris, cleared nearly eight miles of roadway, painted 270 feet of fencing, and pruned 400 trees.
Tragedy struck the mission shortly before Thanksgiving, when two National Guard members from West Virginia were shot while serving in Washington. One of them, 20-year-old Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, later died from her injuries.