Democratic governors who sent National Guard troops to Washington for the nation’s 250th anniversary celebrations are being accused of looking the other way as their forces get pulled into President Trump’s yearlong crackdown on crime in the capital.
A coalition of civic, labor and civil rights groups pressed Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer this week to pull her state’s Guard members, arguing they’ve been misused. Keya Chatterjee, executive director of Free DC, said her group has spotted Michigan troops “far from the Mall,” including near Metro stations, despite the celebrations wrapping up. Ms. Chatterjee said governors are “pretending they don’t know” their troops could be folded into the administration’s Safe and Beautiful Task Force.
Elizabeth Goitein of the Brennan Center for Justice said governors are trusting an administration that “cannot be trusted” to keep the missions separate.
The National Guard’s presence in Washington has been controversial since August 2025, when Mr. Trump ordered a surge over what he called out-of-control crime. The deployment climbed from a steady 2,300-2,600 range to about 5,000 for the anniversary festivities, with Democratic-led states part of the surge.
Minnesota is withdrawing its just over 100 troops Saturday, ahead of schedule. Michigan’s roughly 160 troops are slated to stay through Aug. 31, but Ms. Whitmer has threatened to end that early if her state’s Guard is used beyond the anniversary events.
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• Democratic-led states face backlash over National Guard deployments in Washington
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