Some National Guard members in Washington, D.C., likely fewer than 50, were to be armed starting Sunday night, a military official told CBS News.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had ordered that National Guard troops patrolling the streets of Washington for President Trump's law enforcement crackdown be armed, the Pentagon said Friday.
Armed National Guard troops seen in Washington D.C. on Aug. 24, 2025.
National Guard personnel have been deployed in D.C. since last week, when Mr. Trump ordered the D.C. Guard to crack down on what he has called an "epidemic of crime."
A day before, Hegseth, as well as Vice President JD Vance and White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, visited National Guard members at Union Station.
The city had been informed about the intent for the National Guard to be armed, a person familiar with the conversations said earlier this week.
Spokespeople for the District of Columbia National Guard and a military task force overseeing all the guard troops in Washington did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment. »