Overview

• About 2,200 National Guard members are deployed in Washington, with some carrying firearms under rules limiting use to imminent threats of death or serious injury.
• The decree instructs the Pentagon to quickly stand up a dedicated D.C. Guard unit, maintain a constant quick‑reaction force for civil unrest nationwide, and open an online portal to recruit applicants with policing or military expertise.
• Local opposition and street protests continue in the capital, while Illinois Governor JB Pritzker denounces talk of sending forces to Chicago, saying conditions do not constitute an emergency.
• Officials note the president directly controls the D.C. Guard, but legal experts say broad federalization of Guard units beyond Washington without an acute emergency remains contested.
• Separate from Guard patrols, ICE and other DHS units have intensified raids in Washington neighborhoods with many migrants, with videos showing masked officers in unmarked vehicles.