President Donald Trump signed a presidential memorandum on August 11 directing the District of Columbia National Guard to mobilize in response to what his administration describes as “out-of-control violent crime” in the nation’s capital. The order authorizes the Guard to remain deployed until “law and order is restored.”
The memorandum also instructs the Secretary of Defense to coordinate with state governors and approve the deployment of additional National Guard units if needed. No timeline or specific troop numbers were provided.
According to a White House fact sheet, three recent incidents contributed to the decision: the May murders of two embassy staffers, the June fatal shooting of a congressional intern near the White House, and the recent beating of a Trump administration staffer by what it described as a “violent mob.”
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, Trump had raised the possibility of federal oversight of D.C. following the attack on a former Department of Government Efficiency staffer, saying the intervention could involve activating the National Guard “maybe very quickly, too.”
The White House fact sheet cited Washington’s 2024 murder rate of 27.54 per 100,000 residents, claiming it is higher than rates in Bogotá (15.1), Mexico City (10.6), Islamabad (9.2), Lima (7.6), Paris (1.64), London (1.1), and Madrid (0.96). Officials said the violent crime rate in the District now surpasses that of “some of the most dangerous places in the world.”
“Violent crime that prevents Federal workers from safely performing their duties and prevents Americans from safely accessing their elected officials is a threat not just to the city, but to the Nation,” the memorandum states.
On his first return to Washington since leaving office in 2021, Trump lamented “the filth and the decay” he said had overtaken the capital. He later pledged to “take over the horribly run capital of our nation, Washington, D.C., and clean it up, renovate it, and rebuild our capital city so that it is no longer a nightmare of murder and crime, but rather it will become the most beautiful capital anywhere in the world.”
In March, Trump created the “Making D.C. Safe and Beautiful” task force to increase law enforcement presence and improve infrastructure. The administration said it remains committed to reducing violent crime, improving public safety, and making Washington “a model of prosperity and security.”
Comparing the initiative to his border policies, Trump said in the fact sheet, “Just like I took care of the Border, where you had ZERO Illegals coming across last month, from millions the year before, I will take care of our cherished Capital, and we will make it, truly, GREAT AGAIN! Before the tents, squalor, filth, and Crime, it was the most beautiful Capital in the World. It will soon be that again.”