Hegseth extends National Guard deployment in DC through February

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has extended the deployment of the National Guard in Washington, D.C., through February

The deployment of more than 2,000 National Guardsmen was set to expire at the end of November, a pentagon official told The Hill news outlet on Thursday.

An Army official told the media outlet the Guardsmen “are patrolling communities, deterring crime, and providing vital assistance to the citizens and visitors of the District of Columbia.”

The Guard has been deployed in D.C. since August, when President Trump sent about 800 members to the nation’s capital and put the city's police department under federal control. Trump declared a public emergency over D.C.'s violent crime crisis and ordered Hegseth to mobilize the guard.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Drug Enforcement Administration, and FBI agents were also sent by Trump to the city to crack down on crime and illegal immigration.

National Guardsmen from Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia are also in D.C. There are 2,389 National Guardsmen in the city, 960 from D.C. and 1,427 from the seven states, according to the Joint Task Force – D.C.