Walz pulls Minnesota National Guard from Washington early amid backlash
Walz is pulling 107 Minnesota Guard troops from Washington early after patrol reports, sharpening pressure on other Democratic governors over Trump’s deployment.
Tim Walz is pulling Minnesota National Guard soldiers out of Washington early after troops sent for the city’s 250th-anniversary celebrations were seen on presence patrols far from the National Mall.
Minnesota had sent 107 Guard members for the Freedom 250 and America 250 mission, with instructions to support only events near the national monuments. Their orders were originally set to run until July 23. Walz is now ending that assignment early after the soldiers were seen in neighborhoods away from the Mall, in duties that matched patrols carried out by troops assigned to Trump’s long-running federal task force.
The pullback lands in the middle of a larger surge that has brought more than 5,100 troops into Washington for July 4 and America 250 events. The deployment began in August 2025, when Trump issued an emergency order over crime, and it has drawn criticism from constitutional and legal experts as well as activists who call it an anti-democratic use of the military. The operation now costs more than $3 million a day.
Kentucky, North Carolina, Michigan, Maryland and Hawaii also sent Guard members to Washington in recent weeks for the same 250th-anniversary mission. As of July 7, Joint Task Force-DC counted 426 troops from Maryland, Michigan and Minnesota on duty in Washington. Michigan contributed roughly 160 troops, and Minnesota more than 100, while the rest of the roughly 5,000-plus force came from the District of Columbia, Republican-led states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Walz’s decision increases pressure on Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who has faced calls from a coalition of more than two dozen think tanks and civic, labor and civil rights groups to withdraw her state’s troops. Whitmer wrote that she has not deployed and will not deploy the Michigan National Guard to support the D.C. Safe and Beautiful Mission. Michigan and Minnesota have also joined other Democratic-led states in a lawsuit challenging the deployment.
This article was produced by Prism’s automated news system from verified source data, official records, and press releases, then run through automated quality and moderation checks before publishing. The system is built and supervised by the people who set the standards it runs under. Read our full AI policy.
Did this article answer your question?
