Pressure mounts on Governor Whitmer to withdraw National Guard troops
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 10, 2026
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As election threats escalate, pressure mounts on Governor Whitmer to withdraw National Guard troops
DC Council joins growing call for Michigan to cease support for Trump’s occupation of DC
Washington, DC — Pressure is intensifying on Governor Gretchen Whitmer as she continues to have Michigan National Guard soldiers deployed in DC where they are supporting Donald Trump’s ongoing occupation of the capital.
On Monday a national coalition of over two dozen organizations including Indivisible, MoveOn, the Brennan Center for Justice, and moresent a letter to Governor Whitmer urging her to withdraw Michigan’s Guardfrom DC. There is “no reason to trust [Trump’s] administration to use your Guard forces appropriately or even lawfully,” the letter states.
Now DC’s local elected leadership are adding their voices. The DC Council sent a unanimous letterto Governor Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan as well as Governor Albert Bryan of the U.S. Virgin Islands on Thursday calling on them to withdraw their National Guard soldiers from DC. “Now that the event-specific mission for which Michigan personnel were deployed has concluded, we respectfully ask that you recall all Michigan National Guard personnel as soon as practicable,” the Council stated.
This marks the first time the DC Council has publicly requested governors take action to end the National Guard’s presence in DC.
“DC residents have been saying for 11 months straight that we need the National Guard and federal surge forces out of our communities immediately,” said Keya Chatterjee, Executive Director of Free DC. “The not-so-safe taskforce these units operationalize has killed and kidnapped community members for nearly a year. They are here to protect the regime, not people, and with federal elections on the horizon it is incredibly dangerous that thousands of armed soldiers are in the capital city.”
Background
Whitmer’s deployment of Michigan National Guard is continuing as Trump undertakes “unprecedented dismantling” of elections integrity agencies.
Politicizing federal troops during national elections is a common strategy used by military dictatorships
There are currently more than 5,000 National Guard soldiers deployed in DC, most of them armed and patrolling neighborhoods far from the National Mall
As of July 7, Michigan has 162 troops deployed in DC. The U.S. Virgin Islands has 81.
All National Guard troops in DC are under the operational command of Joint Task Force-District of Columbia. It was activated on August 11 last year to operationalize Trump’s “DC Safe and Beautiful Task Force.” Agents operating under this Task Force killed Julian Bailey on February 11, 2026 and engaged in a high speed chase that killed a bystander Nolberto Mezza on June 20, 2026.
Research shows that the National Guard’s presence has done little to reduce violent crime in D.C.
DC Council is the legislative body and chief policy-making authority for the District of Columbia. Duly elected by DC’s 700,000 residents, DC Council works to improve quality of life across every neighborhood in the District by enacting laws, exercising government oversight, and ensuring fiscal responsibility.
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