Democracy & Rule of Law · Report · File No. 261106-309
D.C. officials urge Democratic governors-elect in 5 states to recall Guard troops
A D.C. Council leader says the new governors in Georgia, Iowa, Nevada, Ohio and Texas could pull their troops on day one. It is the first test of how Democrats will handle Trump's use of the military at home.
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Washington, D.C., officials are asking Democratic governors-elect in five states to bring their National Guard troops home from the capital. The states are Iowa, Georgia, Nevada, Ohio and Texas, and Democrats flipped the governor's office in each one in Tuesday's election 1. The move could pull about 628 Guard members off city streets starting in January 1.
At a D.C. Council hearing on Thursday, council member Brooke Pinto, a Democrat who chairs the public safety committee, said she would soon send a letter on the council's behalf. It will ask the governors-elect to withdraw their soldiers "immediately" 1.
It’s something they can do their first day in office
Who has troops in the city
About 3,100 Guard troops are deployed in Washington under President Trump's "Making the District of Columbia Safe and Beautiful" mission, announced last summer 1. Just under 760 belong to the D.C. National Guard, which the sitting president controls. Another 2,341 were sent by states and territories, nearly all of them led by Republican governors, according to the mission's joint task force 1.
Georgia and Iowa could make the biggest difference. Georgia has 514 troops in the city and Iowa has 110 1. Texas, Ohio and Nevada each have only one or two 1.
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Alaska's governor's race has not been called. If Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, who is leading, wins, another 34 Guard members could be recalled 1.
Why the council is asking now
Pinto said earlier requests to governors met heavy resistance from governors following President Trump's lead. She said Tuesday's results give the city a chance to change course 1. The deployment began in August 2025, when the federal government temporarily took over D.C. law enforcement by presidential executive order 1.
The council has tried this before. In August, the Justice Department's Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald answered a council letter asking governors to withdraw troops by Sept. 1. He called it "politically-motivated" 2.
your council has no power to demand that governors remove their brave men and women from serving in uniform
Pinto also criticized a directive from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth late last month. It lets the Guard use boats, up to 60 marked police cars and military tactical vehicles in D.C. 1. She said that is the "opposite direction" from what the city needs, and that it makes it harder to tell soldiers from police 1.
What happens next
The new governors do not take office until January, and the letter has not yet gone out 1. Whether any of them will act is not yet known. Pinto also urged the incoming Democratic House majority to step up oversight of federal policing in the city. She suggested that federal agents wear identifying badges and body cameras and that face coverings be banned 1.
That matters because it is an early test of Democratic power at the state level. Governors control their own Guard troops, so the five new governors can decide whether their states keep taking part in a deployment that D.C.'s elected leaders say they did not ask for.
The Record
- The federal government temporarily took over D.C. law enforcement by presidential executive order, and the Guard deployment began that August 12.
- The Justice Department's Colin McDonald told the D.C. Council it had no power to demand that governors remove troops 2.
- Council member Brooke Pinto said she would ask governors-elect in five states to recall their troops 1.
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Sources
- The Hill, “DC official urges incoming Democratic governors to withdraw National Guard” (2026-11-06). thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/6204606-dc-democrats-recall
- NOTUS / Washington Sun, “The DOJ Assails D.C. Council for Demanding National Guard Withdrawal” (2026-08-13). washingtonsun.com/metro/dc-council-national-guard-letter-doj
Found an error? Tell the newsroom. Corrections are noted at the top of the story.
More from the files
Hegseth OKs National Guard boats, military vehicles and 60 patrol cars for D.C.
Two Pentagon memos signed Oct. 29 let troops in Washington use more vehicles, boats and rifles on patrol. A federal appeals court has not yet ruled on whether the deployment is legal.
Washington Guard watches ballot boxes; report of a 50-state mission remains unconfirmed
About 100 unarmed, plainclothes soldiers are helping monitor drop boxes in seven Washington counties. A viral report of a Guard election mission in all 50 states rests on unnamed sources, while Pentagon promises cover federal forces but not Guard units under governors.
Pentagon calls questions about Jennifer Hegseth's consulting role 'ridiculous slander'
Disclosure records show the defense secretary's wife held a consulting role with a Republican-linked firm. The Pentagon says the couple follow all ethics laws, and no evidence shows she influenced Pentagon decisions.
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