In the aftermath of Wednesday’s shooting of two National Guard troops near the White House, War Secretary Pete Hegseth said President Donald Trump has requested the deployment of another 500 Guard members to the nation’s capital.
"President Trump has asked me ... to add 500 additional troops, National Guardsmen, to Washington, D.C. This will only stiffen our resolve to make Washington, D.C., safe and beautiful,” Hegseth told reporters.
“President Trump will never back down.”
Two members of West Virginia's National Guard were shot in downtown Washington, just blocks from the White House. A suspect shot in the incident is in custody with injuries that are not believed to be life-threatening.
Hegseth called the shooting a “cowardly, dastardly act targeting the best of America.”
“Heroes willing to serve in Washington, D.C., for people they don’t know and never met because they love their capital, their country and their community,” he said. “Someone decided to turn that into targeting National Guardsmen. That will only stiffen our resolve.
“We will never back down, we will secure our capital, we will secure our cities,” he added.
Roughly 2,300 National Guard troops are currently deployed in D.C., part of a federal security mission launched after Trump activated the Guard on Aug. 11, 2025.
The first 800 D.C. Guard members arrived the next day, with additional forces from several states joining through September. The mission, known as Joint Task Force-D.C., supports local and federal law enforcement and has been extended through February 2026 unless new orders are issued.
The two guardsmen were shot in an exchange of gunfire with the suspect, a law enforcement source told WRC. One Guard member was shot in the head, WUSA reported. No information was immediately shared about who opened fire or why.
"The animal that shot the two National Guardsmen, with both being critically wounded, and now in two separate hospitals, is also severely wounded, but regardless, will pay a very steep price," President Donald Trump, who is in Florida for the Thanksgiving holiday, wrote on Truth Social.
Hegseth said “we’re following this very closely. We’re getting information rapidly.”
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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