The Pentagon said some National Guard units patrolling Washington began carrying firearms on Sunday, implementing an order issued late last week by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. The decision marks the first time troops assigned to President Donald Trump’s crime crackdown in the capital have been armed. Roughly 2,000 Guard members from the District and six Republican-led states are now deployed, up from the 800 initially mobilised. Selected units are equipped with M17 pistols or M4 rifles and are operating under strict rules limiting the use of force to situations posing an imminent threat of death or serious injury. An Associated Press photographer observed South Carolina guardsmen with holstered sidearms outside Union Station. The move intensifies Trump’s unprecedented federal intervention in local policing. The president, who says the deployment has sharply reduced crime, has indicated he may keep the troops in place and plans to request about $2 billion from Congress to repair roads, lighting and other infrastructure in the city. Trump has also threatened to expand military deployments to other Democratic-run cities, specifically Chicago, New York and Baltimore. Maryland Governor Wes Moore, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson rejected the prospect, arguing no emergency justifies a federal troop presence and pledging to contest any order in court. U.S. officials said the Pentagon has conducted preliminary planning for a possible operation in Chicago, though no formal directives have been issued. The White House has not detailed a timetable for any additional deployments.