National guard troops have spent their last days of the summer mulching cherry trees, collecting trash and clearing homeless camps across Washington DC, as Donald Trump’s federal takeover of the capital evolved the guard from makeshift cops to armed jacks of all trades.
More than 2,200 soldiers from states including Mississippi and Louisiana have been stationed across the city since Trump declared a “crime emergency” on 11 August. However, their responsibilities now encompass clearing out Union Station and what officials term “beautification” projects, including trash collection, mulching around cherry trees at the Tidal Basin, and potential graffiti removal.
