DC National Guard Extended Through February 2026

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has extended the National Guard deployment in Washington, D.C., through at least February 2026. Roughly 2,300–2,387 Guard members from the District and several states remain mobilized under Title 32 authority, which permits certain law-enforcement activities. Troops have largely performed beautification, outreach and patrol duties, and officials say they have helped reduce some crime metrics while the mission costs about $1 million per day. The deployment has raised pay and benefits concerns amid a government shutdown and prompted legal challenges and sharp criticism from D.C. leaders who call it an unlawful federal intervention, while the Trump administration defends the mobilization as necessary to improve public safety. The extension is open-ended and it is unclear whether it broadly applies to all contributing states, as some had planned withdrawals.