The Justice Department on Thursday condemned the D.C. Council for its "politically motivated demands" and "impotent theatrics" after council members sent letters to governors asking them to recall their National Guard troops from Washington, D.C.
The letters were co-signed by multiple D.C. Council members and sent in late July to the governors of Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia and Wyoming, according to the office of Councilmember At-Large Robert White.
FBI Director Kash Patel told Fox News Digital this week that homicides in D.C. are down 44% from last year since President Donald Trump's administration launched the Safe and Beautiful initiative on August 11, 2025, which increased federal law enforcement presence and deployed hundreds of federal agents and National Guard troops to combat crime.
What the Right Is Saying
Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald wrote in a letter addressed to the D.C. Council: "I am not surprised that your recent letter to state governors regarding the National Guard feigns ignorance of the historic public safety strides made in our Nation's capital since August 11, 2025."
McDonald stated: "Thanks to courageous and steadfast support from National Guard units, Task Force members have conducted thousands of arrests, located lost and missing children, and taken substantial numbers of illegal firearms off the city's streets." He added that the National Guard has "personally intervened in numerous assaults and provided medical aid on innumerable occasions."
"Let me be clear, your council has no power to demand that governors remove their brave men and women from serving in uniform in our Nation's capital," McDonald wrote. "Your politically-motivated letter is impotent theatrics not worth the paper it's written on, and D.C. is a much safer place no matter what you say."
The Justice Department posted on X: "This Department of Justice will not stand for these politically motivated demands. We will continue standing with @POTUS and the Make D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force to deliver historic results for the community — and for visitors from across the country and around the world to enjoy."
What the Left Is Saying
D.C. Council members argue that the National Guard deployment has failed to reduce violent crime despite costing taxpayers more than $3 million per day, according to figures from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.
"There are approximately 5,148 Guard personnel currently deployed to the District under the premise that an extraordinary military presence was necessary to address public safety. Yet analysis of the deployment has found only a modest decrease in property crime and no measurable reduction in violent crime attributable to the Guard's presence since August 2025," the letters stated.
The council members wrote that "at a time where families in each of the states and across the country are struggling with the cost of groceries, housing, health care, and other necessities, wasting those resources on an ineffective, indefinite deployment that neither District residents nor officials asked for is disrespectful to American taxpayers."
Each letter requested that governors withdraw their troops once America 250 event-related needs conclude on September 1, 2026. "We are grateful to the Guard members who have been present to support the nation's capital during this exceptionally busy period," the letters stated. "Once the principal event-related needs conclude...we respectfully ask that they be permitted to return home to their families, careers and communities."
What the Numbers Show
According to FBI Director Kash Patel, homicides in Washington, D.C. have dropped 44% since the launch of the Safe and Beautiful initiative on August 11, 2025.
There are approximately 5,148 National Guard personnel currently deployed to the District, according to figures cited by the D.C. Council.
The Congressional Budget Office estimates the deployment costs more than $3 million per day in taxpayer funds.
The DOJ credits Task Force members with conducting thousands of arrests and seizing substantial numbers of illegal firearms during the first year of operations.
The letters acknowledged that the America 250 events presented significant public safety and logistical challenges requiring coordination across multiple jurisdictions.
The Bottom Line
The dispute highlights an ongoing tension between local D.C. officials and the Trump administration over federal authority in the nation's capital. While both sides cite data supporting their positions, the core disagreement centers on whether the National Guard deployment's costs are justified by its results.
Fox News Digital reached out to representatives of D.C. Council members for comment but had not received a response at time of publication. The DOJ's letter makes clear the administration intends to maintain the current security posture regardless of council objections.