Brogan Jones — May 19, 2026
Throughout his second term as president, Donald Trump has accelerated the use of national guard deployments. Specifically, the President has ordered troops to major cities around the nation in his attempt to “crack down on crime.” One of the cities that has received the most attention in this regard is the President’s own backyard: Washington, D.C. Since last August, the nation’s capital has been patrolled by national guardsmen, whose presence has been continuously extended under a prolonged state of emergency. While over 2,500 troops remain in the capital today, that number is set to drastically increase this summer.
On Friday, federal authorities announced that 1,500 additional troops will be deployed to Washington, D.C., a move officials are calling a “summer surge.” Authorities also stated that the troops’ main goals would be to combat violence, prevent the trafficking of illegal substances and break up disorderly gatherings. The latter refers to “teen takeovers,” social-media-organized gatherings of teenagers that have grown increasingly popular in major urban areas over the last several months. These loud, sometimes violent youth demonstrations have troubled police, and were cited by U.S. Attorney in Washington Jeanine Pirro as one of the primary drivers behind the latest wave of National Guard deployments.
The timing of these deployments is also far from coincidental. As the summer months grow nearer, so too does the 4th of July, America’s annual celebration of independence. This year, the holiday is particularly significant, as it marks the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence being signed. The Trump administration’s decision to bolster anti-crime efforts appears to be an attempt to prepare the capital for citywide celebrations, which the administration is hosting to commemorate the landmark date.
Regardless of the reason behind it, the guardsmen’s bolstered presence in Washington, D.C. is likely to spark backlash. Not only do many D.C. residents oppose the administration’s increased police power, but the cost of these deployments remains a major concern. Maintaining a national guard presence in 6 major cities for the rest of the year is estimated to cost $1 billion, and over $1 million per day is spent funding the national guard in D.C. Other opponents of the deployments point out that the benefits the administration has claimed, such as a drastic decline in homicides, occurred before troops were deployed last summer. With concerns already mounting, it is likely that the administration’s decision to deploy more troops to D.C. will only ignite further disagreements and increase tensions between guardsmen and citizens.
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Extemp Question: Will Trump continue his use of national guard deployments?
Extemp Analysis by: Brogan Jones
AGD/Background: There’s a lot of free will here for your AGD. National guard deployments can be a sort of repetitive topic, so you might want to go for something funny or at least engaging if you get this sort of question. For the background, you’ll want to discuss Trump’s frequent use of deployments and how he has deployed troops to several major U.S. cities.
Answer/SOS: If I got this question, my answer would be yes for three key reasons… 1) He is able to utilize states of emergency, 2) He is able to utilize political allies, 3) He increasingly uses them to fulfill his personal goals.
For the first point, I would just emphasize how Trump has managed to extend a temporary deployment by nine months, causing troops to become permanent fixtures in Washington, D.C. This ability to create endless emergencies will help Trump continue to deploy troops in the future.
The second point isn’t really discussed a whole bunch in the article, but I would talk about how Trump’s deployments are rarely challenged when they occur in areas where he has political allies. For example, his D.C. deployments were not challenged because of his connections with individuals like Jeanine Spiro, whom he appointed. This gives Trump a way to deploy troops and avoid legal challenges in the future: by deploying troops to areas where he has political allies in power.
The third point is simply that Trump is willing to use the National Guard to accomplish his personal goals, such as preparing D.C. for his 250th anniversary celebration. This supports the fact that Trump will continue to use deployments in the future to accomplish his personal ambitions.
