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 and ordered an increased presence of federal law enforcement to assist in crime prevention, in Washington, D.C., U.S., August 23, 2025. REUTERS/Jose Luis Gonzalez
During the last 70 years, U.S. presidents have federalized National Guard troops only on rare occasions. President Dwight D. Eisenhower federalized the Arkansas National Guard to protect Black students when a Little Rock high school was desegrated in 1957; President George H.W. Bush federalized California National Guard troops in response to the Los Angeles riots of 1992 — but only after then-Gov. Pete Wilson asked him to.
But for the most part, U.S. presidents have left the use of National Guard troops up to governors.
President Donald Trump has federalized National Guard troops in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. and is threatening to do the same thing in Chicago, Baltimore and other U.S. cities. But according to internal documents obtained by the Washington Post, some National Guard members in D.C. aren't the least bit happy over the way they are being deployed by Trump in the U.S. capital.
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Post reporter Alex Horton, in an article published on September 10, explains, "The National Guard, in measuring public sentiment about President Donald Trump's federal takeover of Washington, D.C., has assessed that its mission is perceived as 'leveraging fear,' driving a 'wedge between citizens and the military,' and promoting a sense of 'shame' among some troops and veterans, according to internal documents reviewed by The Washington Post."
Horton emphasizes that although the National Guard deployed troops in Washington, D.C. are following orders, that doesn't mean they like what Trump is doing.
"The assessments, which have not been previously reported, underscore how domestic mobilizations that are rooted in politics risk damaging Americans' confidence in the men and women who serve their communities in times of crisis," Horton reports. "The documents reveal, too, with a rare candor in some cases, that military officials have been kept apprised that their mission is viewed by a segment of society as wasteful, counterproductive and a threat to long-standing precedent stipulating that U.S. soldiers — with rare exception — are to be kept out of domestic law enforcement matters."
According to Horton, a "summary" from Friday, September 5 reads, "Trending videos show residents reacting with alarm and indignation. One segment features a local [resident]describing the Guard’s presence as leveraging fear, not security — highlighting widespread discomfort with what many perceive as a show of force."
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Horton notes that a National Guard official, interviewed on condition of anonymity, "acknowledged the documents are authentic but downplayed their sensitivity, saying the assessments are intended for internal use and were inadvertently e-mailed to The Post last week."
According to Horton, "Social media posts about the military mission in D.C. summarized on Friday were assessed to be 53 percent negative, 45 percent neutral and 2 percent positive, the documents say. While officials have insisted that troops are not policing, their actions have sometimes blurred the lines between soldiering and law enforcement, including detaining criminal suspects until police have arrived."
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Read Alex Horton's full Washington Post article at this link (subscription required).