WORLD / AMERICAS
More US states send National Guard troops to D.C. amid strong backlash
By Xinhua Published: Aug 20, 2025 07:37 AM
This photo taken on Aug. 19, 2025 shows a National Guard vehicle parked in front of Union Station in Washington, D.C., the United States. The U.S. state of Tennessee announced Tuesday that it is sending around 160 National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., after U.S. President Donald Trump asserted that crime and homelessness have been out of control in the nation's capital. (Xinhua/Hu Yousong)

This photo taken on Aug. 19, 2025 shows a National Guard vehicle parked in front of Union Station in Washington, D.C., the United States. The U.S. state of Tennessee announced Tuesday that it is sending around 160 National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., after U.S. President Donald Trump asserted that crime and homelessness have been out of control in the nation's capital. (Xinhua/Hu Yousong)

The U.S. state of Tennessee announced Tuesday that it is sending around 160 National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., after U.S. President Donald Trump asserted that crime and homelessness have been out of control in the nation's capital.

The latest development came about a week after Trump declared a crime "emergency" in the U.S. capital and deployed around 800 troops from the D.C. National Guard on Aug. 11.

Over the weekend, the Republican governors of West Virginia, Ohio and South Carolina pledged to deploy National Guard troops to the national capital. On Monday, Mississippi and Louisiana also said they would deploy National Guard troops to D.C.

The troops from Republican-led Tennessee are expected to arrive by the end of this week. By then, the total number of National Guard troops in D.C. could reach around 2,000.

Such moves have drawn strong backlash from Democrats. Kansas Governor Laura Kelly, the chair of the Democratic Governors Association, on Tuesday implored her colleagues "from Ohio, West Virginia, South Carolina, Mississippi and every other state to reject the temptation to use their soldiers to reinforce a dangerous, politically motivated agenda."

To deploy National Guard troops to another jurisdiction, "without the request and consent of that state's governor -- or, in this case, the local authorities of Washington, D.C. -- undermines the mission of the National Guard, wastes resources needed for real emergencies, and, perhaps worst of all, adds to the divisiveness that already threatens our United States," Kelly said.

Members of the National Guard patrol outside Union Station in Washington, D.C., the United States, on Aug. 19, 2025. The U.S. state of Tennessee announced Tuesday that it is sending around 160 National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., after U.S. President Donald Trump asserted that crime and homelessness have been out of control in the nation's capital. (Xinhua/Hu Yousong)

Members of the National Guard patrol outside Union Station in Washington, D.C., the United States, on Aug. 19, 2025. The U.S. state of Tennessee announced Tuesday that it is sending around 160 National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., after U.S. President Donald Trump asserted that crime and homelessness have been out of control in the nation's capital. (Xinhua/Hu Yousong)


 
Members of the National Guard patrol outside Union Station in Washington, D.C., the United States, on Aug. 19, 2025. The U.S. state of Tennessee announced Tuesday that it is sending around 160 National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., after U.S. President Donald Trump asserted that crime and homelessness have been out of control in the nation's capital. (Xinhua/Hu Yousong)

Members of the National Guard patrol outside Union Station in Washington, D.C., the United States, on Aug. 19, 2025. The U.S. state of Tennessee announced Tuesday that it is sending around 160 National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., after U.S. President Donald Trump asserted that crime and homelessness have been out of control in the nation's capital. (Xinhua/Hu Yousong)