WASHINGTON ‒ Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the Trump administration is deploying an additional 500 National Guard troops to Washington DC following the Nov. 26 shooting of two guard members blocks from the White House.

"This will only stiffen our resolve to ensure that we make Washington DC safe and beautiful," Hegseth told reporters.

Following reductions in recent weeks, nearly 2,200 National Guard troops are currently in Washington DC after President Donald Trump launched his crime crackdown in the nation's capital in August. The proposed surge would increase the mission to around 2,700 troops.

Trump has hailed his deployment of the National Guard to Washington DC as a wild success in bringing down crime and a model as he moves to send troops in Portland, Oregon, Chicago and other cities. Yet Trump has exaggerated the drop in crime, this week falsely claiming DC has not had a homicide in six months.

There have been 123 homicides this year in DC, according to Metropolitan Police Department in DC. Last week, the DC police announced an investigation into a shooting death that occurred Nov. 19. Homicides are down 29% in 2025 from 2024, according to Metropolitan Police Department in DC, but the crime rate was already on the decline before Trump intervened.

"The drop in crime has been historic," Hegseth said. "The increase in safety and security has been historic. But if criminals wants to conduct things like this ‒violence against America's best ‒ we will never back down. President Trump will never back down. That's why the American people elected him."

The two National Guard members, both from the West Virginia National Guard, are in critical condition after they were shot in an ambush near two blocks from the White House in downtown DC.

Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.

(This story has been updated with more information.)

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump to send 500 more National Guard troops to DC after shooting

Reporting by Joey Garrison, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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