What is Going on with the National Guard?

In the past few months, President Donald Trump has been busy deploying the National Guard. The first deployment occurred in Los Angeles in response to immigration protests. Recently, Trump authorized the National Guard to arrive in Washington, D.C., citing high crime numbers. With Trump threatening even more deployments in more cities, it is important to know what this all means.

Fig. 1, National Guard Members in Washington, D.C. https://www.politico.com/news/2025/08/27/trump-national-guard-poll-00531862.

The National Guard stems from early anti-colonial state militias, predating the American Revolution. These state militias were brought under federal authority in the 1790s, allowing George Washington to mobilize the militias in response to the Whiskey Rebellion. The legality is often confusing, as both the state and federal governments hold the power to mobilize the National Guard. As we have seen with President Trump, there were deployments in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., despite pushback from state governors and executives.

There are numerous reasons that a sitting president may federalize the National Guard. Typically, the National Guard is federalized in response to a natural disaster or to ensure civil order. In 1957, President Dwight Eisenhower federalized the Arkansas National Guard in response to the decision of Brown v. Board of Education, which stated that racial segregation in schools was unconstitutional. Furthermore, President George Bush did, in fact, federalize the National Guard during Hurricane Katrina, albeit the response may have been better. 

There are cases when the National Guard may be deployed but not federalized. For example, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Guard was not entirely federalized. All 50 states deployed their National Guard, but it was not put under the direction of the United States President.

Which brings us to President Trump’s most recent federalization, Washington, D.C. President Trump has claimed that the crime rates in some of the United States’ most urban cities (also, mostly Democratic-supported) are rising. Given this claim, Trump has federalized the National Guard to aid in crime relief. However, as data shows, many cities are experiencing a reduction in violent crime rates from 2020-2024 (Fig. 2).

Fig. 2, Violent Crime Rates Since 2020. https://apnews.com/article/trump-national-guard-crime-stats-92ee575c0d445320aa633f6abe2a26b9 

Comically, the National Guard deployed in Washington, D.C., does not have a clear set of goals or action plans. As was reported by MSNBC, service members are currently picking up trash surrounding the monuments in the nation's capital.

With President Trump threatening to federalize the National Guard yet again to send to mainly Democratic-supportive cities, it is safe to say that there will definitely be legal pushback. Additionally, this move seems to be unpopular amongst most Americans. In a recent poll reported by Politico, it was highlighted that 56% of respondents disagreed with the recent actions of the President. We will continue to see what happens as President Trump continues to intimidate those who oppose him.