President Trump has requested that 500 additional National Guard troops be deployed to Washington, DC, according to Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.
The ask comes in response to an attack on Wednesday in which two National Guardsmen were shot just blocks away from the White House.
“We will never back down. We will secure our capital. We will secure our cities,” Hegseth told reporters Wednesday. “President Trump has asked me, and I will ask the Secretary of the Army to the National Guard to add 500 additional troops, National Guardsmen to Washington DC.”
“This will only stiffen our resolve to ensure that we make Washington DC safe and beautiful. The drop in crime has been historic. The increase in safety and security has been historic.”
President Trump has requested that 500 additional National Guard troops be deployed to Washington, DC, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said. Getty Images
There were approximately 2,100 National Guard troops assigned to DC, including about 900 from the DC National Guard and roughly 1,200 from other states, a Pentagon official told The Post.
The two National Guardsmen are in critical condition and were armed when they were shot, according to authorities. They were members of West Virginia’s National Guard, Gov. Patrick Morrisey (R) said.
A motive for the attack has not yet been revealed, nor has the suspect’s identity. DC Mayor Muriel Bowser told reporters it was a “targeted shooting” in which one individual “appeared to target these guardsmen.”
The shooting took place around 2:15 pm ET near Farragut Square in Northwest DC, a bustling area filled with retail stores and restaurants. The shooting has been described as an “ambush.”
Police responding to the mass shooting near the White House. MQ RYAN via REUTERS
National Guard troops with law enforcement officers at the scene of the shooting. AP
“At approximately 2:15 this afternoon, members of the DC National Guard were on high visibility patrols in the area of 17th and I Street Northwest when a suspect came around the corner, raised his arm with a firearm and discharged it at the National Guard members,” DC Metropolitan Police Chief Jeff Carroll recounted.
Follow the latest on the National Guard shooting in Washington, DC:
Law enforcement from DC’s Metro Police Department, FBI, ATF and Secret Service all responded to the scene.
One suspect has been apprehended after the shooting, according to local cops. That suspect has not yet been publicly identified. Carroll revealed there is “no indication that there were any other suspects.”
An injured National Guard troop seen inside an ambulance after the shooting. AFP via Getty Images
The two National Guardsmen are in critical condition. AFP via Getty Images
Both Trump and Vice President JD Vance were outside of DC when the attack took place, with the president in Florida and the veep visiting troops in Kentucky.
Trump has dispatched the National Guard to DC since Aug. 11 as part of an effort to tackle crime and beautify DC. The deployment began after former Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) employee Edward Coristine, also known as “Big Balls” was assaulted after intervening in a carjacking. Coristine now works in the Social Security Administration.
After the shooting, Trump vowed that the “animal” who carried out the rampage “will pay a very steep price.”
Unlike traditional law enforcement officers, the National Guard generally isn’t authorized to make arrests due to the Posse Comitatus Act.
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Last week, a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to withdraw the National Guard from DC, but paused that order from going into effect until Dec. 11 to give time for an appeal.
DC had filed a lawsuit against Trump in September, contending that his troop deployment was illegal because it did not have the mayor’s approval.
Trump briefly deployed troops in Memphis, Chicago and Portland, but those efforts were stymied by the courts.