US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Wednesday that 500 additional National Guard troops will be deployed to Washington, DC, after two Guardsmen were shot just blocks from the White House.
“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,” Hegseth told reporters during his trip to the Dominican Republic, as quoted by The Hill.
“This will only stiffen our resolve to ensure that we make Washington, DC, safe and beautiful. The drop in crime has been historic. The increase in safety and security has been historic,” Hegseth added after meeting Dominican officials. “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.”
The announcement came after two National Guard members were critically wounded in the shooting.
West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey initially stated that both service members, reportedly from the West Virginia National Guard, had died. Minutes later, he clarified that his office was “receiving conflicting reports about the condition of our two Guard members and will provide additional updates once we receive more complete information.”
FBI Director Kash Patel subsequently stated that the two were hospitalized in critical condition.
Currently, about 2,200 National Guard troops from multiple states are deployed in the capital as part of the administration’s crime crackdown.
Last week, a federal judge blocked the deployment of Guard troops to Washington, but US District Judge Jia Cobb, appointed by former President Joe Biden, placed the ruling on hold until December 11. The Trump administration has appealed.
Trump condemned the attack and praised the Guard’s role in securing the capital. “The animal that shot the two National Guardsmen, with both being critically wounded, and now in two separate hospitals, is also severely wounded, but regardless, will pay a very steep price. God bless our Great National Guard, and all of our Military and Law Enforcement,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.