Summary
- VP JD Vance visits National Guard troops.
- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth joins the visit.
- The visit took place at DC main station.
- Shows White House support on city streets.
- Emphasizes backing for National Guard presence.
The appearance of Vance and Hegseth, along with White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, was a dramatic scene that demonstrated the Republican administration's keen attention to the Washington situation and its readiness to support a project that has caused division in the Democratic-led city.
“We brought some law and order back,” the vice president asserted as protesters chanted “free DC” during the latest tense interlude from President Donald Trump’s crackdown in the nation’s capital on Wednesday.
“We appreciate everything you’re doing,”
Vance said as he presented burgers to the troops. Citing the protesters whose shouts echoed through the station, Vance said,
“They appear to hate the idea that Americans can enjoy their communities.”
The FBI and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) were among the federal law enforcement organizations that started monitoring areas of Washington, DC, on August 8.
A few days later, on August 11, President Trump temporarily placed the city's Metropolitan Police under federal control by announcing a "crime emergency" under Section 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act.
Less than a mile (1.6 km) from the US Capitol, an armored vehicle collided with a civilian automobile early on Wednesday, creating yet another dramatic spectacle at the junction of city life and military presence. According to Vito Maggiolo, a spokesman for the DC Fire Department, one individual was stuck inside the vehicle following the collision and had to be freed by emergency personnel. The patient had minor injuries and was sent to a hospital.
The cause of the collision was not immediately apparent. A brown armored vehicle twice as tall as a civilian car with a crushed side was shown in the aftermath of the crash in a video that was uploaded online.
“You come to our city and this is what you do? Seriously?”
a woman yelled at the troops in the video.
Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser, trying to balance the constituency that elected her and the reality in front of her, acknowledged the changing situation in the city as she attended a back-to-school event with teachers and staff.
“This is not the same time, is it, that we experienced in opening school last year,”
she said. Bowser said she would focus on the politics and told school employees that
“your job is to love on the kids, teach them and make sure that they are prepared and to trust that I’m going to do the right thing for all of us”.
Despite the militarised backdrop, Bowser said it’s important that children “have joy when they approach this school year”. Public schools around Washington reconvene Monday for the fall semester.
What specific actions did JD Vance and Pete Hegseth take during their visit to Union Station?
They met with National Guard troops stationed at the station to show support and express gratitude for their efforts in patrolling the city amid a crackdown on crime. Vance personally handed out burgers to the National Guard members during a lunch organized at the Shake Shack inside Union Station.
Both officials spoke to the media and thanked the troops for helping bring a reduction in violent crime, with Vance citing statistics like a 35% drop in violent crime and a 50% reduction in robberies in just nine days since the deployment began.
They addressed the public and reporters, emphasizing the need for political willpower to restore law and order in the city.