A person holds a white sign with bold red text and a red border reading "Statehood for the People of DC Now!" against a bright blue sky, with two blurred people in the foreground.
A person holds a white sign with bold red text and a red border reading "Statehood for the People of DC Now!" against a bright blue sky.
Hundreds of thousands of Washington residents oppose the Trump administration鈥檚 continued deployment of the National Guard. The only way to make sure this never happens again is to make D.C. a state
Monica Hopkins,
桃子视频of the District of Columbia
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August 3, 2026
Hundreds of thousands of Washington residents oppose the Trump administration鈥檚 continued deployment of the National Guard. The only way to make sure this never happens again is to make D.C. a state

Last August, President Donald Trump manufactured a phony 鈥渃rime emergency鈥 to surge National Guard troops and federal agents into our nation's capital. This deployment came on the heels of similar surges in Los Angeles, Portland, and Chicago. He even that the National Guard was fighting 鈥渁 war from within,鈥 and that American cities could be used as military 鈥渢raining grounds.鈥

While the Trump administration backed down in many of the other cities, the nation鈥檚 capital has remained filled with nearly 5,000 National Guard troops from more than 15 states. National Guard members have harmed residents like , a retired Army Captain who received a Purple Heart for her service in the Iraq War, was sitting on her front patio when three National Guard members walked through her gate, told her that she was detained, and violently restrained her. The Guard members pinned her to the ground, kneeled on her back, and handcuffed her tightly, refusing to loosen the handcuffs after she complained. King suffered significant injuries from the incident, particularly in her wrist, which required surgery.

A protester holds a white handmade sign reading "Soldiers Off Our Streets" in large black letters during a DC statehood rally, with city buildings, trees, and red protest signs in the background.

Last August, President Donald Trump manufactured a phony 鈥渃rime emergency鈥 to surge National Guard troops and federal agents into our nation's capital.

It鈥檚 also draining taxpayers鈥 wallets. The current cost of the deployment is more than $3 million per day, according to an estimate by the nonpartisan . This year alone the cost of having the National Guard in D.C. will total around $600 million.

Now, the Trump administration has declared that this unprecedented domestic deployment will continue into 2029. Despite opposition and opposition from the ACLU, Washington, , and local for troops to leave, the Trump administration continues to use Washington neighborhoods as test sites for domestic military use and other extreme policies the administration wants to spread around the country. Unlike other jurisdictions that successfully pushed back against this unconstitutional use of the military, Washington, D.C. is not legally recognized as a state.

A person at a rally holds a handmade white sign with large red, blue, and black lettering that reads "700,000 People Deserve Congressional Representation," with a crowd gathered under trees in the background.

Now, the Trump administration has declared that this unprecedented domestic deployment will continue into 2029.

Without D.C. statehood, the District鈥檚 elected officials do not control the District鈥檚 National Guard 鈥 the president does. The presence of thousands of National Guard troops in Washington threatens to normalize this administration鈥檚 misuse of the country鈥檚 troops against its own people. National Guard troops should only be deployed for true emergencies, like natural disasters or a riot at the capitol that attempts to disrupt the transfer of presidential power. Our country鈥檚 national guard troops must not be political props.

District residents pay federal and local taxes but are denied a vote in Congress. Residents are faced with National Guard troops on every corner, but more than 30,000 veterans and 11,000 active-duty servicemembers who live in Washington are denied voting participation in Congress. Indeed, the ongoing denial of full voting rights, where most of the residents in the District are Black and brown, is an egregious form of ongoing voter suppression happening in our country today.

We cannot continue to let out-of-touch politicians use the people of Washington to test the limits and reach of authoritarian power.

Just 65 years ago, District residents finally got the . It鈥檚 only been 53 years since Congress the District limited self-governance, and the right to elect a mayor and local legislative body.

, the District鈥檚 local government has the power to pass and enforce local laws and to pass a budget like any other state. But, unlike a state, Congress has the power to overturn local laws and dictate how it can use its own local tax dollars.

For example, Congress to remove nearly $700 million of local tax dollars from Washington鈥檚 local budget in February. People who live and work in the District were thrown into limbo simply because Congress decided to overturn local tax law. That would be unthinkable in any other state. We cannot continue to let out-of-touch politicians use the people of Washington to test the limits and reach of authoritarian power. Washington is the canary in the democratic coal mine, and there can be no true democracy without D.C. statehood.

That鈥檚 why it鈥檚 so important for people living outside of Washington, who actually have representation in Congress, to take on the fight for D.C. statehood as their own. Only then can we ensure that the residents of Washington have their full democratic rights and local freedoms. Tell your member of Congress to .

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