Gov. Brian Kemp (R-GA) authorized hundreds of National Guard troops to deploy to Washington, D.C., on Friday to support President Donald Trump’s anti-crime initiative in the country’s capital.
The governor authorized roughly 300 Georgia Guard Soldiers to provide relief to National Guard service members who have been stationed in D.C. since Trump declared a crime emergency and federal takeover in the district on Aug. 11. The Georgia servicemembers are scheduled to mobilize in mid-September and will be on active duty in Washington “shortly thereafter,” according to a press release from Kemp’s office.
“Georgia is proud to stand with the Trump administration in its mission to ensure the security and beauty of our nation’s capital,” says the statement. “We share a commitment to upholding public safety and are grateful to these brave Guardsmen and women, for the families that support them, and for their dedication to service above self. As they have demonstrated again and again, our Georgia Guard is well equipped to fulfill both this mission and its obligations to the people of our state.”
The announcement marks the latest positive development in Kemp’s and Trump’s relationship, as the two men have been known to share a shaky alliance most recently threatened by a Georgia Senate race to unseat Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA).
The Georgia Guard will join seven other states, and over 2,200 Guardsmen from around the country have deployed to D.C. to support local law enforcement in targeting crime, the governor’s office said. Their “specific tasks [will] vary based on the needs of those law enforcement partners.”
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While the district’s Democratic mayor, Muriel Bowser, has been largely amicable to having the federal government assist in targeting crime due to concerns the city’s police department is short almost 800 officers, Washington, D.C., on Thursday sued the Trump administration over the matter, alleging the federal takeover violates local autonomy and multiple federal statutes.
District of Columbia National Guard troops have orders to stay in the district through December, officials announced Wednesday. It is unclear how long troops from other states will remain.
