WASHINGTON – Michigan’s National Guard troops have left Washington, D.C., after a two-month deployment, according to the D.C. National Guard’s Joint Task force webpage. These troops were sent to the District as part of the Trump administration’s “summer surge” ostensibly connected to the commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
The American Civil Liberties Union of the District of Columbia, which has been a vocal critic of the National Guard’s deployment to D.C. since it started in August 2025, applauded the removal. Monica Hopkins, executive director of the ACLU of D.C. said:
“We’re grateful that we now have fewer troops on our streets, and this victory is a testament to the power of Americans resisting the deployment of troops into our neighborhoods.
“The problem remains, though. All National Guard troops need to go home. The people of the District don’t need them here, and their deployment is costing all taxpayers more than $3 million per day. If they stay here until January 2029, taxpayers across the country will cough up $3 billion for this political charade.
“Donald Trump's militarization of the nation's capital shows why Washington, D.C. needs to become a state. Every day that the National Guard remains in the District is another day that the subjugation of Americans in our nation's capital is on full display. It's time to finally grant full democratic rights to the 700,000 people who call D.C. home and to make the District the 51st state."
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