Already a subscriber? Make sure to log into your account before viewing this content. You can access your account by hitting the “login” button on the top right corner. Still unable to see the content after signing in? Make sure your card on file is up-to-date.

Federal officials have confirmed that the Trump administration is requesting an additional 1,500 National Guard troops to Washington, DC, as part of a broader “summer surge” of federal law enforcement ahead of celebrations marking America’s 250th birthday.

Some shit you should know before you dig in: If you’re unaware, the federal government has been running law enforcement in Washington, DC, since last summer after Trump signed a March 2025 executive order declaring a public safety emergency (which Trump called “liberation day”) and temporarily took over the DC Metropolitan Police Department under the DC Home Rule Act, the first time a sitting US president has invoked that authority. The administration also created the DC Safe and Beautiful Task Force, pulled in Guard troops from surrounding states, and added 500 more soldiers after a shooting that wounded two Guard members near the White House on November 26. Current Pentagon plans keep Guard troops in the city until January 20, 2029, the day Trump’s second term ends. Crime in Washington has hit record lows, but at significant cost. According to a report from Democratic lawmakers, the deployment is running about $1.65 million a day, with the bill north of $450 million since troops first hit the streets in August.

What’s going on now: US Marshals Service Director Gadyaces Serralta announced the new surge Friday at a press conference alongside US Attorney for DC Jeanine Pirro and Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald. The proposed additional 1,500 National Guard troops, still pending Department of Defense approval, would bring the total number of Guard members patrolling DC to roughly 5,000.

The surge will also include an increase in US Park Police on foot, in vehicles, and on horseback; additional resources from the FBI, US Marshals, DEA, and ATF; and a doubling of Homeland Security Investigations agents. Serralta clarified that HSI agents will focus on fraud investigations involving public housing vouchers rather than immigration enforcement.

Pirro touted the operation’s track record, claiming roughly 13,000 arrests and the seizure of “almost 1,500 illegal firearms” since the surge began on August 7, 2025. She also cited local police data showing a 36 percent drop in homicides this year and a 26 percent decline in overall crime.

Local officials were absent from Friday’s announcement, with sources telling local news outlets that neither Mayor Muriel Bowser nor the Metropolitan Police Department was consulted about the summer surge before the press conference.

Serralta brushed off questions about why DC officials hadn’t been included. “This is the president’s task force. Let me be clear: This is the president’s task force, OK, and we’re here to stamp out crime.”

Bowser pushed back when asked whether MPD would actually have the resources to enforce Pirro’s new parent prosecutions. “I don’t know that MPD has those type of resources to do that. With the departure of Attorney General Bondi, it would appear that other people have been designated that we just aren’t familiar with. I have to learn more about what they’re suggesting before I can comment further. It would not be in keeping with how we’ve worked with them over the last several months.”