A year after Trump sent in troops, Washington still isn’t used to the National Guard

On the first anniversary of President Trump's controversial decision to deploy National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., a protest took place on the city's bustling streets. Demonstrators carried signs demanding the troops leave and calling for statehood for the capital. The presence of the military has been a source of unease among residents, with 79% of the city's inhabitants opposing the deployment, according to a recent poll.

The deployment of troops began in August 2025 after a violent incident involving a government employee, which Trump used as justification for sending the military to the city. Since then, about 4,500 National Guard soldiers have been patrolling Washington, compared to 3,800 officers in the Metropolitan Police Department. The Pentagon estimates that the operation has cost nearly $3 billion since its inception, with the majority of the troops coming from Republican-led states.

Critics argue that the deployment of troops is not an effective solution to improving public safety in the District of Columbia. In fact, crime rates in the area have been declining, with violent crime falling by 35% in 2024. Democratic Senator Chris Coons suggested that the government should instead allocate funds to the city's police department to hire more officers.

The ACLU of DC has also expressed concerns about the normalization of military presence on the streets, warning that it could lead to public apathy towards the militarization of American communities. The deployment of troops in Washington, D.C., is unprecedented in its scale and duration, making it the largest domestic military operation undertaken by the Pentagon since the Iran war.