Gov. Brian Kemp said Friday he’s deploying more than 300 Georgia National Guard troops to Washington to aid President Donald Trump’s federal intervention in the nation’s capital amid a widening debate over the use of the military for local law enforcement.
The contingent involves roughly 300 soldiers who are scheduled to mobilize in mid-September. Another 16 support staff were dispatched earlier this week, officials said. They will join roughly 2,200 National Guard troops, including 1,300 from six other GOP-led states.
The Georgia Guardsmen, according to Kemp’s office, will help provide a “visible presence in support of local law enforcement in D.C. Their specific tasks vary based on the needs of those law enforcement partners. Personnel may be armed, consistent with their training, depending on the mission and operating under civilian law enforcement.”
This is separate from another deployment of 75 Georgia National Guard soldiers and airmen who are assigned to provide “administrative and logistic support” as part of Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration.
Kemp, who has worked to repair strained ties with the president after years of political tension, framed the decision as a show of solidarity with Trump’s mission to “ensure the security and beauty of our nation’s capital.”
“We share a commitment to upholding public safety,” he said, “and are grateful to these brave Guardsmen and women, for the families that support them, and for their dedication to service above self.”
The growing Guard presence has raised sharp questions about Trump’s use of troops for anti-crime missions. D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb filed a lawsuit this week seeking to block what he called a “military occupation” that turned domestic troops into local police.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
The legal battle comes as Trump pursues broader authority over local policing in Democratic-led cities. Trump has also sought to take control of Washington’s police department and threatened to send National Guard troops to Chicago and other Democratic-led cities.
And earlier this week, a federal judge ruled that the Trump administration illegally used National Guard troops deployed to Los Angeles this summer during mass protests against immigration raids. That ruling only applies to troops in California, the judge said, not nationwide.
Critics say the president’s actions blur the nation’s long-standing line against militarizing domestic law enforcement. Gov. Laura Kelly of Kansas, who chairs the Democratic Governors Association, has urged GOP governors to “reject the temptation to use their soldiers to reinforce a dangerous, politically motivated agenda.”
Kemp has taken a different stance, echoing Trump’s arguments that the mission is about curbing crime in the nation’s capital. He told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in a recent interview that he viewed such deployments as part of the Guard’s duties.
“Certainly, if we’re asked to do that — we stay in communication with the White House on issues like that — we’ll be glad to talk to him about that mission,” he said of the president, adding, “We’re always ready to serve if needed.”
‘Break in trust’
Georgia joins at least six other Republican-led states — Louisiana, Mississippi, Ohio, Tennessee, South Carolina and West Virginia — in sending Guard troops to Washington. About 1,000 members of the D.C. Guard are also deployed.
Critics point out that the crime rate in DC has declined and that other major cities in GOP-led states have higher rates of violent crime than Washington, yet Trump has not threatened federal intervention there.
In Georgia, violent crimes dropped roughly 10.5% in 2024 from the previous year, according to FBI data released in August. That includes a 5.1% decrease in homicides. Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said crime overall is down 8% in the city from 2024.
A critic of the surge of federal law enforcement, Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser has notably softened her stance in recent weeks, praising the Guard troops for helping lead to “an extreme reduction in carjackings” and a decrease in gun-related crimes.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
But Bowser has warned the police takeover has led to a “break in trust” between residents and law enforcement, and warned the use of federal troops infringes on the city’s autonomy.
Such deployments could affect the National Guard’s recruitment efforts, said retired Maj. Gen. Joe Wells, who directed intelligence and communication at the National Guard Bureau
“If they feel like anybody could call them out to do any kind of job and take them away from their families and their jobs, they are not going to be eager or excited about joining,” said Wells, a former assistant Georgia adjutant general.
Wells also underscored the possibility that Georgia could experience an emergency or that an armed conflict could break out overseas while the Guardsmen are deployed to Washington.
“The generals at the Pentagon are counting those National Guard soldiers not as first responders,” Wells said. “They are counting them as ‘This is my backup plan. This is how I am going to continue to keep my strength at a high level, if I do deploy them to a situation in the world or to protect the country.”
Consisting of about 11,000 soldiers and 3,000 airmen, Georgia’s Guard has deployed for a range of missions in recent years, from disaster relief and COVID-19 response to patrols along the U.S. border with Mexico and combat tours in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Georgia Guardsmen have also been dispatched for law enforcement initiatives. In 2020, for example, they protected state government buildings during a burst of violence across the city that left four dead. A year later, they secured the state Capitol in the wake of the Jan. 6 insurrection in Washington.
Kemp said he’s confident the Guard can balance its duties at home and in Washington.
“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.”
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