Washington DC Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, who has denied crime is out of control in her city, described the troop deployment as an "authoritarian push". Trump, a Republican, has also threatened similar deployments against New York and Chicago, two other cities controlled by Democrats.

A significantly larger National Guard presence is expected across Washington, D.C. starting Wednesday, as operations shift from evening patrols to around-the-clock deployment, according to a White House official.