# Hegseth Signs Memo Letting National Guard in Washington Use Up to 60 Marked Patrol Cars, Humvees and Boats as D.C. Officials Demand the Troops Leave, Fox News Reports

Two Pentagon officials confirmed the Oct. 29 memo to Fox News Digital. About 3,000 troops are in the capital. A D.C. councilmember asked newly elected Democratic governors in five states to pull back their 628 troops.

- Section: [Politics](https://rightnewsrightnow.com/politics/)
- Published: 2026-11-05
- By: RightNewsRightNow Staff
- Canonical page: https://rightnewsrightnow.com/articles/hegseth-oct-29-memo-national-guard-dc-60-marked-patrol-cars-humvees-boats-pinto-hearing-governors-withdraw-fox-news/

War Secretary Pete Hegseth has authorized National Guard troops in Washington to use dozens of marked police cars, military vehicles and boats, Fox News reports, as local officials push to end the deployment.

The memo. Two Pentagon officials confirmed to Fox News Digital that Hegseth signed an Oct. 29 memo. It allows up to 60 marked patrol cars, Humvees, military tactical vehicles and D.C. National Guard boats, plus up to 20 light towers and generators. A War Department official said it "authorized the continued use of National Guard personnel and capabilities in support of the Make D.C. Safe and Beautiful mission" to support federal and local law enforcement. Politico reported the authorization first, and Fox says it follows Hegseth's earlier decision to let troops carry service-issued weapons when a mission requires it.

The deployment. Roughly 3,000 Guard troops are in the capital as part of President Donald Trump's crime crackdown. Fox's related reporting says the FBI has touted 6,000 arrests and a 44 percent drop in homicides one year in. We did not verify those figures.

The pushback. D.C. Councilmember Brooke Pinto, who chairs the council's public safety committee, held a hearing Thursday on the federal law enforcement and Guard presence. She said she is hopeful that "we now have the partners we need at the state and congressional level to push back and demand that this unnecessary, harmful and unlawful military presence be removed." She called on newly elected Democratic governors in Georgia, Iowa, Nevada, Ohio and Texas to withdraw the combined 628 troops she said their states sent.

The legal fight. A Fox video segment says the Justice Department argues the D.C. Council has no power to move the Guard. The article does not detail that argument, and we did not see the filing.

Why it matters here. The vehicles and boats show the mission continuing to grow just as Democrats gain leverage in statehouses and in Congress. Whether the new governors will act, and when their terms start, is not in the report.

What we could not check. We did not see the memo. Fox does not say what the boats and extra vehicles will be used for or the cost. The article does not include a response from the governors named.

## Source

Original reporting: [Fox News](https://www.foxnews.com/politics/hegseth-expands-national-guard-operations-dc-authorizes-police-patrol-cars-humvees-boats)