War Secretary Pete Hegseth has approved the use of marked police cars, military vehicles and boats by National Guard troops deployed in Washington, D.C., expanding the equipment authorized for the mission as local officials press for the military presence to end.
Two Pentagon officials told Fox News Digital that Hegseth signed the authorization on Oct. 29. The memo permits up to 60 marked patrol cars, along with Humvees, military tactical vehicles and D.C. National Guard boats. It also authorizes up to 20 light towers and generators for operations supporting federal and local law enforcement.
About 3,000 National Guard members are stationed in the capital as part of President Donald Trump's crackdown on crime. A War Department official told Fox News Digital that the guidance allows continued use of Guard personnel and equipment for the administration's Make D.C. Safe and Beautiful mission, with the newly authorized assets supporting law enforcement operations.
Politico was the first to report the equipment authorization. The decision follows another change Hegseth approved last year, when he permitted National Guard personnel to carry service-issued weapons if their assigned missions required them. The Oct. 29 memo addresses the vehicles, lighting equipment, generators and maritime assets available to support the deployment.
The expanded authorization drew attention as D.C. Councilmember Brooke Pinto convened a hearing on Thursday, Nov. 5, to examine the presence of federal law enforcement personnel and National Guard troops in Washington. Pinto chairs the council's public safety committee and used the hearing to call for action by state officials and members of Congress.
Pinto said she was hopeful that partners at the state and congressional levels would help secure the troops' removal. During the hearing, she described the military presence as "unnecessary, harmful and unlawful" and urged those officials to push back against the deployment.
She specifically asked the newly elected Democratic governors of Georgia, Iowa, Nevada, Ohio and Texas to withdraw their states' National Guard members from Washington. According to Pinto, those five states have contributed a combined 628 troops to the deployment in the district.
Pinto also called on congressional Democrats to expand their oversight of federal law enforcement operations in January. Among the measures she sought were requirements for identifying badges and body cameras, alongside her appeal for state leaders to bring their deployed troops home.
