Overview

• Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth directed that National Guard troops in Washington will be permitted to carry service weapons on patrol, marking a new escalation in the deployment.
• Roughly 1,800 to 2,000 Guard members, including reinforcements from several Republican-led states, remain stationed across tourist hubs and transit sites in the capital.
• President Trump warned Mayor Muriel Bowser she could lose her job and signaled similar interventions could follow in Chicago and New York City.
• The District of Columbia filed a lawsuit challenging the federal takeover of local policing, arguing the president exceeded his authority in subordinating the city’s police to the Justice Department.
• Public resistance persisted as protesters booed Vice President J.D. Vance and Defense Secretary Hegseth at Union Station, and Trump opted for a police facility visit after floating a street patrol.