Pinto Targets 628 Troops for Withdrawal Under New State Leadership
A D.C. councilmember is asking incoming governors in five states to recall National Guard units immediately upon taking office.
By Eric Collins ·
Brooke Pinto is asking five incoming governors to recall 628 National Guard troops from the District on their first day in office. The D.C. Councilmember made the request during a public hearing on federal law enforcement activity in the city.
Pinto, who chairs the Council’s Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety, pointed to election victories in Georgia, Iowa, Nevada, Ohio, and Texas. Those five states account for the combined 628 troops currently stationed in Washington, D.C. She argued that the change in state leadership creates an immediate opportunity to pull out-of-state units.
The councilmember cited concerns from families and educators regarding military operations near schools. At an October listening session at Bard High School in Ward 8, students described armed troops gearing up with weapons near school entrances and bus stops. Pinto joined neighborhood parents outside Bard in mid-October to protest the deployments after troops were also spotted near election ballot drop boxes.
Legal uncertainty remains as a three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit prepares to rule on the deployments. D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb challenged the move, arguing the administration lacks legal authority to deploy out-of-state National Guard units in the District. The Department of Justice countered that the president ordered the deployment to support federal law enforcement missions and credited the military footprint with a drop in local violent crime.
Pinto is also calling on congressional Democrats, who take the majority in January, to launch oversight investigations into federal operations. She wants new rules barring federal personnel from wearing face coverings on District streets. Council leaders plan to coordinate their next legislative steps with incoming District leaders, including Mayor-elect Janeese Lewis George and Delegate-elect Robert White.
The troop presence began after a federal state of emergency was declared in August 2025. That declaration dispatched federal personnel into D.C. neighborhoods and sparked a high-stakes legal battle between local leaders and the White House. Justice Department attorneys warned during oral arguments in mid-October that limiting presidential authority over the Guard could hamper future federal mobilizations for inaugurations, major protests, and natural disasters.
