Last month, President Donald Trump assumed federal control over all law enforcement in Washington D.C., and deployed National Guard troops to the nation's capital city, claiming the city's violent crime (which is at a 30-year low) necessitated such measures.
Now, some of those guardsmen are speaking out against the deployment, telling CNN that morale among troops is "falling fast" due to a lack of purpose. CNN reporter Jeff Zeleny spoke with several guardsmen and their family members about what troops really think of their mission after several weeks on the ground.
"We have seen these National Guardsmen and airmen around the city, but they are largely spending most of their time in areas where tourists populate on the National Mall, on the wharf and other things," Zeleny said. "... Of course, these members of the National Guard are used to being deployed to emergencies and things across the country, but they're not exactly sure in some cases, what they're doing here."
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"One father of a guardsman in Tennessee told our reporters this. He said, 'I don't know what he thought he would be doing, but I really don't think he thought he would just be walking around for 12 hours every day. When I talked to him, he was just like, yeah, this is crazy,'" Zeleny recounted.
"One other wife of a guardsman who was deployed here to Washington — again, everyone says that they are willing to serve — but the question is, what exactly is the deployment?" Zeleny continued. "And this wife was very interesting as she told our team this: 'It's a little unusual in terms of what the National Guard is usually deployed for. But I mean, I guess i would say I'm open to it. I feel like maybe they would get a little boost in morale if they could just get a little bit more detail.'"
CNN host Boris Sanchez went on to ask about the financial cost of keeping guardsmen in Washington D.C. despite their apparent lack of mission. Zeleny said the deployment is costing taxpayers roughly $1 million per day, with additional costs like $5 million for 18 weeks of laundry service, $5 million for a tent city, and several million more for air conditioning rental, land use, mobile radio equipment and other costs.
"The bottom line is, no one is complaining about serving. Obviously, they're just wondering exactly what the mission is, and that is sometimes unclear," Zeleny said.
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Watch the segment below, or by clicking this link.