Trump has ordered 500 more National Guardsmen to DC after shooting, Pete Hegseth announces

WASHINGTON, DC: Following the shooting of two National Guard members near the White House, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the deployment of an additional 500 troops to Washington, DC.

The move brings the total National Guard presence to approximately 2,700 as part of President Donald Trump’s ongoing crime crackdown initiative.

Pete Hegseth calls DC shooting a 'cowardly, dastardly act targeting the best of America'

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stated that the Trump administration is deploying an additional 500 National Guard troops to Washington, DC, following the Wednesday, November 26, shooting of two guard members just blocks from the White House. 

This deployment is a direct response to what Hegseth described as a "cowardly, dastardly act targeting the best of America, heroes willing to serve in Washington DC, serve for people they don't know and they've never met because they love their country and their capital and their community, they were willing to do dangerous things others were not because they love their fellow Americans."

"Someone decided to turn that into targeting national guardsmen, that will only stiffen our resolve, we will never back down, we will secure our capital we will secure our cities in fact this happened just steps away from the White House and we will not stand and that's why President Trump has asked me and I will ask the Secretary of the Army to the National Guard to add 500 additional troops national guardsmen to Washington, DC," he announced.

Hegseth vowed, "This will only stiffen our resolve to ensure that we make Washington, DC, safe and beautiful." 

The two National Guard members, both from the West Virginia National Guard, are currently in critical condition after being shot in an ambush near the White House in downtown DC.

Pete Hegseth touts historic drop in crime after National Guard deployment

Pete Hegseth maintained that the deployment has been highly successful. "The drop in crime has been historic," he asserted.

"The increase in safety and security has been historic. But if criminals want to conduct things like this — violence against America's best we will never back down. President Trump will never back down. That's why the American people elected him," Hegseth said. 

It is to be noted that this proposed surge of 500 troops will increase the overall mission to around 2,700 personnel, up from the nearly 2,200 National Guard troops already stationed in the capital following Trump's crime crackdown launched in August.

The POTUS has previously touted the National Guard deployment in DC as a success story and a blueprint for similar operations he plans to launch in other cities, including Portland, Oregon, and Chicago.

Police data suggests crime trend was already moving downward

While President Donald Trump has praised the deployment, claiming a “wild success” and reduction in crime, critics point to the Metropolitan Police Department's data showing a pre-existing trend; the sharp and sustained decline since the administration's action cannot be overstated.

According to the Metropolitan Police Department in DC, the city has recorded 123 homicides this year, and last week alone, the police announced an investigation into a shooting death that occurred on November 19.

Though homicides are down 29% in 2025 compared to 2024, the police department's data shows that the crime rate was already in decline before the August intervention by the Trump administration.