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Exclusive: National Guard orders in DC extended through February 2026

<i>Kay Nietfeld/dpa/picture alliance/Getty Images via CNN Newsource</i><br/>National Guard soldiers stand at the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall in the early morning.

By CNN Newsource

Published October 29, 2025 7:45 pm

By Natasha Bertrand, Haley Britzky, CNN

(CNN) — National Guard troops deployed in Washington, DC, will remain mobilized in the city at least through February 2026, according to people familiar with the guard’s orders.

The troops’ orders had been expected to lapse at the end of November before Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth extended them, which has not been previously reported.

The DC mobilization is currently the subject of a legal fight between the Trump administration and DC’s attorney general, who has requested that a judge order the removal of the roughly 2,000 troops from DC’s streets.

As of Wednesday morning, there were 2,387 National Guard troops mobilized in DC, including from DC, Louisiana, Mississippi, Ohio, South Carolina, West Virginia, Georgia and Alabama. The pay for those guard members has also been in jeopardy as part of the ongoing government shutdown. The mission is costing roughly $1 million daily.

Trump said in August he was mobilizing the guard in DC to help fight crime. The troops are on Title 32 orders, meaning they are authorized to conduct law enforcement activities, as opposed to Title 10 orders which means they are federalized and therefore barred by law to engage in law enforcement activities.

But since they arrived in the city over two months ago, guard members have largely been tasked with “beautification” efforts around the city, including cleaning up parks, laying mulch and picking up trash.

CNN has reported that there was frustration with the mission’s unclear timeline, particularly as troops often leave behind higher-paying civilian jobs while deployed with the guard.

A previous extension through November was largely intended to ensure the continuity of benefits for service members and their families, a senior official familiar with the planning previously told CNN. Guard members do not typically qualify for things like health care benefits or housing allowances unless they are on orders for more than 30 days.

But the Trump administration has also left the door open for how long the mission could continue. In August, Vice President JD Vance said if Trump “thinks that he has to extend this order to ensure that people have access to public safety, then that’s exactly what he’ll do.”