Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has authorized an expanded National Guard presence in Washington, D.C., allowing the troops serving in the capital to begin using boats, several dozen marked police cars, Humvees and light medium tactical vehicles, in an escalation of the Guard's role in the nation's capital.
No new incident triggered the move. It is a continuation of the long-running "Make D.C. Safe and Beautiful" mission that began in 2025, when President Donald Trump placed the Washington police department under federal control and deployed National Guard troops to the capital to fight crime.
The new assets will support police operations targeting drug traffickers and gangs, including water perimeter security in Anacostia. The boats extend the mission onto the capital's waterways, while the marked police cars and tactical vehicles put the Guard in a far more visible supporting role alongside city officers.
The Guard's limits stay the same: its members still cannot make arrests or pursue suspects. Arrests remain the work of the police — the troops provide the presence, the vehicles and the backup that free officers to do it.
The vehicle and boat expansion runs through the end of 2026. The broader National Guard deployment in the capital is expected to continue until January 2029.
For Washington residents, the change means more uniformed patrol support aimed at the drug and gang crime that has driven the mission from the start — with the Guard's backing now extending from the streets to the water around Anacostia.
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