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US Politics

Hegseth lets National Guard troops in DC use military vehicles and boats

The Pentagon confirms the Oct. 29 authorization, and DC Councilmember Brooke Pinto urges five states' new Democratic governors to withdraw their Guard troops.

Pete Hegseth in 2025
Pete Hegseth in 2025. Photo: U.S. Department of Defense, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
10 news outlets reported this
Liberal4 outletsa buildup in the capital Trump called safeCenter2 outletsthe memos' details: vehicles, rifles, boats and limitsConservative4 outletsPentagon's authorization amid Democratic push to remove troops
Published 4 min read
Overview

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has cleared the in Washington, D.C., to use military vehicles, marked police cars and boats as it supports law enforcement. The authorization is dated Oct. 29 and was first reported by Politico. A Pentagon official described it as covering up to 60 patrol cars, tactical vehicles, light towers with generators and Guard boats.

The Pentagon said Hegseth approved continued Guard support for its "Make D.C. Safe and Beautiful" mission. According to the memo as reported, troops still may not chase suspects or make arrests. The boats are to give "perimeter security" to police operations aimed at suspected gang leaders and drug traffickers in Anacostia, and federal officers must always be aboard.

The Associated Press reports the cap on Guard members stays at 3,500. Trump launched the deployment in August 2025. The approval came days before the elections, in which Democrats won control of .

At a council hearing on Thursday, Councilmember Brooke Pinto urged the new Democratic governors of five states to withdraw the troops their states sent.

Key figures
  • up to 60 marked patrol cars vehicles authorized for the Guard, per a Pentagon official — Fox News
  • up to 20 light towers and generators equipment authorized in the Oct. 29 guidance — Fox News
  • 3,500 maximum Guard members deployed, per Hegseth's memos as AP reports — The Seattle Times
  • 628 troops Guard members from five states Pinto wants withdrawn — Fox News
  • $1.4 billion deployment cost through 2028, as Pentagon officials told Sen. Warren — The Daily Beast

Three sides of the story

Liberal4 outlets

a buildup in the capital Trump called safe

The Daily Beast sets the move against Trump's claims of a safe capital, headlining it "Pentagon Pete Ramps Up Military Force in Trump's 'Safe' D.C." It quotes Trump's August 2025 line, "Everybody is safe now," then cites a Cato Institute report finding homicides roughly unchanged and the $1.4 billion cost Pentagon officials gave Sen. Elizabeth Warren. The New Republic pairs the memo with a D.C. police charge against a man for allegedly making a "finger gun" gesture at Guard troops.

It writes that the move "would seem to be a direct challenge" to the new Democratic Congress and Mayor-elect Janeese Lewis George, and could hasten an vote against Hegseth. PBS NewsHour says Hegseth signed off as troops "deepen their integration" with local law enforcement. The New York Times notes the Pentagon said the decision was made Oct. 29, just before a "landslide defeat" for Republicans in the midterms.

Center2 outlets

the memos' details: vehicles, rifles, boats and limits

The Seattle Times runs an Associated Press report that opens with Hegseth approving a bigger Guard presence in the capital, in military vehicles and boats, as troops work more closely with local police. It describes two memos signed Oct. 29 covering 60 military police cars, tactical vehicles, patrol boats and portable light towers. Rifles are allowed in some operations but not inside Metro rail stations, and the maximum number of Guard members stays at 3,500, Hegseth says.

A Marshals Service request for helicopters or for troops to clean up abandoned tires was denied in a Nov. 4 memo. The report also lists incidents involving Guard members and notes the District's lawsuit, with a federal appeals panel hearing arguments Oct. 14. The Hill, in a short report, says a Pentagon official confirmed to it on Thursday that the Guard will start using boats, as many as 60 marked police cars and military tactical vehicles, under an Oct. 29 memo Politico first reported.

Conservative4 outlets

Pentagon's authorization amid Democratic push to remove troops

Fox News headlines the authorization of "police patrol cars, Humvees and boats" and opens by saying it comes as local officials demand an end to the deployment. It quotes a War Department official and cites two Pentagon officials, then Councilmember Brooke Pinto, who calls the presence "unnecessary, harmful and unlawful." The Daily Wire titles its report "Trump Gives D.C. Troops New Muscle As Dems Plot National Guard Exit" and quotes Pinto: "A tsunami of change is coming to our city."

It adds that the incoming governors have not said whether they will withdraw troops. The Washington Examiner quotes a Pentagon official on the guidance. It calls Mayor-elect Janeese Lewis George a socialist and reports that she told local news outlets she is willing to "work with anyone to the benefit of D.C. residents" but will also "stand up to anyone, including the president."

Just the News, citing Politico, notes the memo does not explain why the expansion comes now. It also cites a Cato Institute report that found robberies and motor-vehicle thefts down since the Guard arrived, but "no detectable changes in other crimes" such as homicides.

All sources: 10 articles from 10 outlets

Liberal (4)

Center (2)

Conservative (4)

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