National Guard could stay in Washington, DC, through summer 2026: Lawsuit
The National Guard deployment in Washington, D.C., could be extended into the summer of 2026, according to a new court filing and emails of National Guard leaders obtained by ABC News.
The documents, filed last week to the District of Columbia attorney general in the ongoing lawsuit against President Donald Trump and the D.C. National Guard, show federal officials intend to prepare for the winter months and beyond.
Brig. Gen. Leland Blanchard II, the interim commander of the Washington, D.C., mission, wrote in an email to officers that the mission -- which lapses at the end of November -- could be extended yet again. Blanchard wrote that the team should "plan and prepare for a long-term persistent presence" in the District.
"We know that America 250 occurs this summer, and that will be a factor in determining the future of the mission," Blanchard wrote, referring to a celebration of America’s 250th anniversary on July 4, 2026.
Some 2,400 Guardsmen from the D.C. Guard and eight states are deputized as federal law enforcement. Governors from those eight states volunteered their Guardsmen for the mission and could choose to rotate their servicemembers out.
One state official told ABC News they had not received a request to extend their Guardsmen beyond the end of November.
A Joint Task Force spokesperson also told ABC News the Guard’s orders go until Nov. 30 and there is no plan at this time for an extension.
A White House spokesperson told ABC News in a statement that Trump's deployment of the National Guard "successfully stopped the out-of-control crime crisis in our nation’s capital and turned it into a safe and clean city."
"To ensure the long-term success of the federal operations to deter violent crime, the National Guard is still present in Washington, D.C. We are thankful for their service to keep our capital safe for all of its residents and visitors," the spokesperson added.
The suit filed by the District of Columbia alleges that the troops are currently “operating as a federal military police force in the District.”
According to the filing, officers from state National Guard units who have mobilized to D.C. have been left out of decision-making for their troops.
The Pentagon is “in practice exercising pervasive control over all the troops,” the D.C. attorney general alleges, while “states’ governors and adjutant generals exert no meaningful direction or command over the troops they have sent here.”
At the center of the dispute is the District’s argument that Washington’s local authority has been overridden by federal law enforcement and the National Guard presence, which began in August.
The filing alleges the federalization of the Guard violates the U.S. Constitution.
