President Donald Trump told his Cabinet that he “never” wants to take the National Guard out of Washington.
“I never want to take them out of D.C.,” Trump said, referring to the National Guard during a Thursday Cabinet meeting. “I mean, maybe somebody later on will do it, but I never want to.”
The National Guard has been deployed in Washington since Trump declared a crime emergency in the District of Columbia on Aug. 11, 2025. The deployment was initially expected to last for an emergency timeline of 30 days, though several extensions of that timeline and Trump’s support for members’ efforts in the district have signaled that the National Guard could be in the capital for at least a year, if not longer.
“People, they look, they say, ‘We feel so good, we feel so safe. We see these beautiful, strong people, and they’re so nice,’” Trump said of the National Guard’s impact on the district. “They help. They open the doors for people. They carry bags. They pick up paper when they see paper on the ground.”
Crime rates in Washington have drastically decreased since Trump deployed the National Guard. The district’s homicide rate has dropped by 63%, and overall crime has dropped by 27% compared to this time in 2025, according to the most recent year-to-date Metropolitan Police Department crime statistics.
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In October 2025, court documents signaled that the National Guard could remain deployed in the district through the celebrations for the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence this summer. However, a recent ABC report suggested the Pentagon is seeking to extend the deployment through the rest of Trump’s term, which expires Jan. 20, 2029.
“The Department of War is committed to supporting the President’s mission to address the epidemic of crime in our Nation’s capital,” War Department press secretary Kingsley Wilson said in a statement to the Washington Examiner. “There are no announcements to make at this time.”