The White House has said about 850 officers and agents took part in a ‘massive law enforcement surge’ across the city on Monday night. Key US politics stories from 12 August 2025
A steady stream of uniformed soldiers arrived at the national guard headquarters in Washington on Tuesday for deployment that evening to fight crime in the nation’s capital.
Donald Trump’s deployment of the 800-strong force has been described by Democrats as political theater. With Trump threatening to replicate the move in other big cities, Democrats point to statistics showing that violent crime in Washington has dropped to historic lows in the past two years.
About 850 officers and agents took part in a “massive law enforcement surge” across Washington DC on Monday night and made nearly two dozen arrests, the White House said on Tuesday.
Press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters, “this is only the beginning. Over the course of the next month, the Trump administration will relentlessly pursue and arrest every violent criminal in the district who breaks the law, undermines public safety and endangers law-abiding Americans.”
