National Guard in DC Cleans, Beautifies as Part of Security Push

National Guard troops deployed to Washington, D.C., by President Donald Trump to support a citywide crime initiative have been visible this week performing custodial and beautification work, including picking up trash and spreading mulch at Lafayette Park, the National Mall and the Tidal Basin, officials and local reports said. The activity, first reported after the executive mobilization on Aug. 11 and captured in video and photographs Tuesday, has touched off questions about the troops roles, readiness and the optics of soldiers doing municipal maintenance in the nation’s capital.

Joint Task Force DC officials said the federal force includes 2,234 service members, of whom 929 are from the D.C. National Guard and 1,305 come from Louisiana, Mississippi, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia. Task force officials said troops are undertaking more than 40 beautification and restoration projects around the city, selected with input from local and federal agencies, but they did not provide a detailed list of sites. Some footage shows Guard members wearing bright safety vests while hauling garbage bags and raking leaves; a Guard member quoted by a local newspaper said it...