National Guard asks DC leaders for 'beautification' projects as Trump says crime is gone [View all]

Source: USA Today

Sept. 13, 2025, 3:00 a.m. ET


WASHINGTON – Matthew Cohen couldn't believe the DC National Guard was offering up its soldiers to help with a neighborhood clean-up. “To have the National Guard come to our neighborhood to help pick up litter is absurd,” said Cohen, an advisory neighborhood commissioner, one of Washington's hyper-local elected officials in the city's low crime Northwest.

But he could use the help. So long as thousands of soldiers had standing orders from President Donald Trump to remain on duty in the capital, Cohen wondered, what was the harm if his community took them up on the offer?

Troops that deployed to the city in August were meant to combat what Trump called a crime emergency. Groups of camouflage-clad soldiers have since become a familiar presence, pacing the underground platforms of Metro stations in the city's downtown, along the marble halls of Union Station and at the National Mall, home to the Washington's popular monuments. Soldiers have also been spotted in parks carrying out tasks typically assigned to gardeners and landscapers – shoveling mulch, blowing leaves and scooping up trash.

Now, the DC National Guard is asking city leaders if they might help with local "beautification" projects. This tender offer comes amid protests against Trump's takeover of the city under the banner of "Free DC" and the Guard's own assessments that its deployment prompted "alarm and indignation" among residents.

Read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/09/13/national-guard-deployment-beautification-dc-trump/86076365007/