Georgia leaders want to know why National Guard troops are still in DC

A member of the National Guard holds a camera as other members walk at the Metro Center station after U.S. President Donald Trump deployed the National Guard, in Washington, D.C., U.S., August 23, 2025. REUTERS/Jose Luis Gonzalez

Churches and lawmakers are demanding to know why Georgia National Guard troops are still stationed in Washington D.C., as part of his 250th birthday celebrations, even though they've all ended.

Initially, Trump brought National Guard troops to Washington, claiming the city was facing a “crime emergency.” He then declared that the city was safe, but they were still needed to help beautify it and get rid of the homeless. They were also needed to help with security for his State Fair and the July 4 celebration. Then they were needed for the Grand Prix event in Washington. Guard soldiers are seen largely standing around, walking through the city or picking up trash. Many members told National Public Radio they don't understand why they're still there.

The Department of Defense released a statement in Nov. 2025 saying that they had completed their "beautification efforts."

Nearly one year later, it's unclear why they're still in Washington, but Trump converted his temporary anti-crime deployment into an open-ended mission set to run through January 20, 2029, when he is scheduled to leave office.

A Georgia coalition sent Gov. Brian Kemp (R) a letter demanding answers about how long the soldiers intend to be in Washington, what training they received and whether they'd be able to help when Georgia inevitably has an emergency, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The report noted that 556 Georgia Guard members are currently stationed in Washington. A total of 3,073 soldiers are deployed to the U.S. capital

It is "the largest contingent of any state, according to the most recent figures," The AJC reported.

“Georgia’s National Guard exists first and foremost to serve the people of Georgia,” the letter says.

“Keeping hundreds of Georgia citizen-soldiers on an extended domestic policing mission hundreds of miles from home reduces resources available to our communities, commits taxpayer dollars to an expensive federal operation, and involves our state in establishing troubling precedents for military involvement in civilian policing and elections," it continued.

The letter shows that it was signed by New Birth Missionary Baptist Church; Big Bethel AME Church; Common Defense; state Sen. RaShaun Kemp; and state Reps. Karen Lupton and Ruwa Romman.

Recent reports revealed just how much the federal government is spending to keep the soldiers housed in the city. For some time they were staying in hotels. In July, however, it was reported that they were being moved to long-term housing.

"The National Guard Bureau has awarded a $292 million contract to Placemakr to provide up to 2,000 apartment-style units for troops supporting Joint Task Force–District of Columbia," said the Federal News Network, which covers the government. "The housing contract is the largest interagency lodging acquisition in National Guard history[.]"

The press release from the National Guard claimed that this new housing would “provide a long-term housing solution to improve troop readiness.”

PBS News reported that the mission is costing over $50 million each month. The exact official to-date total cost hasn't been publicly released, but the estimate based on the calculations of over $50 million monthly puts the total cost at roughly $800 million to $900 million so far. That does not include the $292 million contract for Placemakr.

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