Pentagon plans to keep National Guard in DC into 2029, 2 US officials say
The plan is awaiting Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's final approval.
BySteven Beynon
March 19, 2026, 8:06 PM
The Pentagon is planning to maintain the National Guard's federal mission in Washington, D.C., until Jan. 20, 2029, through the rest of President Donald Trump’s second term, according to two U.S. officials.
The plan is in its final stages and just requires Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth's final approval.
Both officials said they expect Hegseth to sign the plan, which was finalized late last year, as Trump has repeatedly characterized the Guard's mission in D.C. as an enormous success.
"There are no announcements to make at this time,” Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson said in a statement to ABC News, adding that the Defense Department is "committed to supporting the President's mission to address the epidemic of crime in our Nation's capital."
Some 2,865 National Guard troops are currently deployed in D.C., according to National Guard data, all drawn from Republican-led states with the exception of local D.C. Guard units.
The force includes contingents from Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and Oklahoma, with units rotating in and out of the District on staggered timelines. Some troops have maintained a near-continuous presence since last summer, while others -- particularly those from out of state -- cycle through on shorter deployments, one of the officials noted.
The National Guard's mission, dubbed "Make D.C. Safe and Beautiful," launched in August as part of a broader push by President Donald Trump to flood U.S. cities with guardsmen to assist law enforcement, a move that quickly drew legal and political scrutiny.
more
https://abcnews.com/Politics/pentagon-plans-national-guard-dc-2029-2-us/story?id=131234530
