National Guard troops are preparing for winter in Washington, DC as leadership acknowledges they could remain in the nation’s capital through summer 2026.
President Donald Trump’s Interim Commanding General of the DC National Guard told officers ‘to plan and prepare for a long-term persistent presence,’ according to emails included in a new court filing.
General Leland Blanchard said in a September 17, 2025 message to generals from other states that he instructed National Guard forces currently in the District to ‘work quickly toward ‘wintering’ our formation.’
While the current extension of troop deployment is through November 30, 2025, Blanchard acknowledged in the email that troop presence in the District could span through when ‘America 250 occurs this summer.’
‘That will be a factor in determining the future of the mission,’ he wrote of the upcoming celebration of the 250th anniversary of US independence.
Blanchard’s correspondence was included in a Friday court filing in DC Attorney General Brian Schwalb’s case against the Trump administration arguing for the end of National Guard presence in the District.
Schwalb argued that discovery in the case ‘underscores the irreparable harm’ that the District of Columbia is falling with National Guard troops patrolling the streets.
He says that troops are unlawfully engaging in law enforcement activity and specifically references what he says are violations of the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 (PCA), which created criminal penalties for governments who use members of the military to enforce domestic law.
National Guard troops are being told to prepare for winter months in Washington, DC as leadership expects deployment to last through the America 250 celebration in July 2026
Interim Commanding General of the DC National Guard Leland Blanchard sent an email to other officers to prepare for ‘wintering’ troops in the District. Pictured: Blanchard (left) and DC Mayor Muriel Bowser (right) attend ceremony on September 11, 2025
And it’s true the administration has boasted of National Guard activities that have led to a reduction in violence and a crackdown on street crime in DC Regularly Trump’s team releases statistics of how many criminals have been arrested since the deployment.
‘[W]e remain in surge status and that will not change,’ Brig. Gen. Blanchard wrote in his email last month.
Despite the lawsuit, 45 percent of Americans are in support of Trump’s deployment, according to an exclusive Daily Mail/JL Partners poll conducted October 14 and 15. Another 37 percent are not in favor of Trump’s action while the remaining 17 percent are unsure or have no strong opinion.
National Guard are prohibited from directly making arrests, but the Trump administration credits the reduction in crime and the surge in arrests on their presence.
As of early October, more than 2,000 arrests have been made since the operation began on August 11. Around 1,500 were made by Metro Police Department officials and the rest by federal agent partners with agencies like ICE, CBP, FBI, DEA, ATF and others.
In a Fragmentary Order sent on September 6 and included as an exhibit in Friday’s filing, troops were instructed to ‘[c]omplete cold weather gear tracker’ as they prepare for winter months in DC
Blanchard said in his email that officials should purchase cold-weather equipment for soldiers, including heating spaces in areas of operation (AO) and personal gear to ‘ensure comfort and safety during shifts.’
‘We know that everybody will run out and purchase winter gear once the first cold snap hits. We aim to be ahead of that so we do not run into a shortage/unavailable issue,’ he added.
National Guard troops were first mobilized in the District on August 11, 2025 as part of President Donald Trump’s crackdown on violent crime in the nation’s capital
A Daily Mail/JL Partners poll shows that slightly more Americans approve of the deployment to DC compared to those who disapprove
Trump first mobilized the National Guard to deploy to DC in August as part of his massive crackdown on violent crime in the nation’s capital. He threatened, and later carried out, deployment of troops to other crime-ridden US cities.
While the DC National Guard mobilized forces are also present in the District from Ohio, Louisiana, West Virginia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama and other states.
