Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has signed an order allowing nearly 2,000 National Guard soldiers and airmen deployed in Washington, D.C., to carry their service-issued weapons, the Pentagon said Friday. The directive covers members of Joint Task Force–DC supporting President Donald Trump’s campaign to reduce crime in the capital. A defense official said the troops could begin carrying firearms within days and will do so "consistent with their mission and training." Guard personnel—drawn from the District and several Republican-led states—are still prohibited from making arrests and may detain suspects only if local police are unavailable. The troops had been unarmed since their arrival last week. Arming the contingent represents the sharpest escalation to date in Trump’s federal policing effort, which Mayor Muriel Bowser has denounced as the deployment of an "armed militia" in the city. About 2,000 Guard members are currently stationed across the District under federal control.