WASHINGTON, D.C. — For the first time since President Trump controversially deployed the National Guard to the nation's capital last year, several Democratic governors have sent members of their respective guards to the city.
Kentucky and North Carolina began the trend in recent weeks, each sending just a single guard member as D.C. readied for America 250 celebrations. Michigan then sent more than 100 last week, and Minnesota followed suit with 107 earlier this week, according to numbers made public by the D.C. Joint Task Force, which is coordinating Trump's deployment in the city.
Those troops are joining thousands of uniformed, armed guard members who have maintained a continuous presence in the city since August. Until recently, troops have come from Washington, D.C. and more than a dozen Republican-led states, which offered up members of their guard as part of a joint federal task force launched by Trump to fight crime in the city, which was already trending down. U.S. territories Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands have also contributed members of their National Guard.
But these are the first troops sent from states led by Democrats, leading many legal experts who have been watching Trump's deployment in D.C. to wonder whether those guard members will participate in the routine – and controversial – neighborhood patrols and overall militarized feeling of the nation's capital that has become a trademark of this administration. Democrats have largely opposed the president's deployment to the city.
D.C. is currently filled with more than 4,800 uniformed National Guard members patrolling residential streets, city parks and metro stops. That number has nearly doubled in the past month after federal officials announced a "summer surge" in law enforcement ahead of planned America 250 celebrations. The deployment now costs upwards of $2.8 million per day, according to an estimate by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.
Confusion over troops listed as part of the federal task force
When contacted by NPR, spokespeople for each respective governor's office made it clear that their guard members were sent to help with the influx of crowds expected for America 250 celebrations taking place in the city this summer, not for law enforcement purposes as part of the larger ongoing federal Joint Task Force operation.
But troops from all four Democratic-led states are listed as part of the official federal Joint Task Force numbers released to the public.
When asked about the one Kentucky guard member on that list, Scottie Ellis, communications director for Gov. Andy Beshear, said that designation was against the governor's wishes.
"The Kentucky Guard member being referenced was assigned to D.C. under a different order and then diverted to the task force by the federal government without the knowledge or consent of Gov. Beshear or the Kentucky Guard," Ellis wrote in an email to NPR. "A request has been made for the Kentucky Guard member to be reassigned back to their original deployment and if that is not seen through, they will be recalled and return to Kentucky."
Others seemed unclear whether their states were supposed to be listed or not.
"There might be a mix-up here," wrote Bobby Leddy, communications director for Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, in an email to NPR when presented with the list. "The Michigan National Guard are deployed only to support the America 250th celebration activities, not for the Joint Task Force mission."
Leddy clarified that Michigan guard members have "only been approved to assist with a variety of missions designed to ensure a safe and welcoming environment" for visitors to D.C., including things like traffic management and logistical operations.
When asked about the confusion, the Joint Task Force responded in a statement that it "does not comment on specific administration mobilization orders," but did say that the Joint Task Force is overseeing all guard members currently in D.C. for organizational purposes. It clarified that it does not change their specific mission.
Defining between Trump's Task Force and America 250 Celebrations
All four Democratic-led states have been clear about their opposition to the Trump administration's ongoing deployment of National Guard troops to D.C., filing an amicus brief in support of litigation challenging it as recently as May.
But legal experts worry that drawing a distinction between the America 250 celebration and the general mission of the Joint Task Force in the city will prove difficult.
"It's impossible, as a practical matter, to disentangle any America 250 orders and operations from the broader ongoing D.C. operation, and everything that the Joint Task Force is doing day to day," says Beau Tremitiere, counsel at Protect Democracy, a nonprofit legal center that has been tracking the D.C. deployment carefully.
It's not unusual for states to send guard members to help with big national celebrations or events, like inaugurations, Super Bowls, or political conventions. But Tremitiere says this is not a "business as usual" time for the nation's capital.
"What's troubling here is that a number of states appear to be trying to draw fine distinctions between the ongoing operation and the deployment of troops to ostensibly participate in America 250 proceedings, and that distinction just does not survive scrutiny," he says. "The broader context here is really critical."
Troops are under state control. But how that will play out in D.C. is unclear
All state guard members are currently in D.C. under Title 32 status, which essentially means that the federal government pays for the deployment, but the state governors maintain control and command of their troops.
But until now, troops have been sent by Republican governors who more or less supported the Trump administration's Joint Task Force goals and mission. These deployments by Democratic governors could challenge that.
And once a state's guard is in D.C., governors don't necessarily have a clear line of vision into what they're asked to do on a day-to-day basis, says retired Gen. Randy Manner, once a top official in the National Guard with extensive experience in routine multi-state deployments.
"The governor, legally, is responsible for them," Manner says. "But the reality is once they go over to the task force under the agreement between the state and the National Guard Bureau, then the commander on the ground in the District of Columbia would be responsible, so typically the state plays almost no role in the actual day-to-day activities."
Joseph Nunn, counsel at the Brennan Center for Justice with a focus on issues surrounding the domestic activities of the U.S. military, says the unique status of D.C. — where the guard is under the president's control — further complicates the situation on the ground.
"What we're seeing is a reality that has developed where perhaps all of the Title 32 deployments are functionally federalization," Nunn says. "These National Guard personnel are coming to D.C., and they're being placed under the sort of tactical and operational control of the District of Columbia National Guard, which is permanently under federal control."
Trump's unprecedented use of the National Guard
These deployments come within the larger context of the past year, as the Trump administration has made unprecedented use of the National Guard domestically.
"This isn't happening in isolation, these are not normal times, and nothing about how this administration has used the National Guard has been normal or appropriate for almost a year now," Nunn says.
Trump seized control of National Guard troops against the wishes of several Democratic governors last year and deployed troops to mostly Democratic-led cities across the country. Those deployments faced a litany of legal setbacks, including all the way up to the Supreme Court.
In D.C., a federal appeals judge ruled late last year that Trump's deployment could continue as a panel of judges reviews its legality. There are also ongoing National Guard deployments in both Memphis and New Orleans.
The administration has maintained that its use of the military has been lawful throughout every legal challenge.
But Nunn says that knowing how this administration has been pushing the legal boundaries around the use of troops domestically, he's surprised that Democratic governors offered to send their guard into the mix in the city.
"Given this administration's track record over the past year and a half, the potential for these guard forces to be misused is so high that it almost becomes a guarantee," he says.
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