Whitmer warns Michigan National Guard in DC only for America 250
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI) threatened on Monday to withdraw National Guard troops stationed in Washington, D.C., for the semiquincentennial if the Trump administration characterizes them as part of another “Safe and Beautiful Mission.”
There are around 170 Michigan National Guard members stationed in the capital from June 10 through August 31 as part of the Trump administration’s summer surge to patrol streets during celebrations for the country’s 250th anniversary of independence. In a letter to Paul Rogers, the head of the Michigan National Guard, Whitmer reiterated she designated those troops for use only in the “non-partisan” mission to keep the city safe for the semiquincentennial and not as part of President Donald Trump’s anti-crime initiative using military troops to make the district “safe and beautiful.”
“If the National Guard is unable or unwilling to ensure the Michigan National Guard is only supporting the America 250 Mission, appropriately defined – and is unable or unwilling to communicate consistent with that fact – then I will end Michigan’s support for the America 250 mission,” the governor warned.
Republican-led states across the country have sent thousands of National Guard troops to support the president’s initiative to battle crime in Washington, D.C. In recent weeks, several Democratic-led states, Michigan among them, have also begun sending troops, but only for use in operations to secure the city during massive events that are expected to draw hundreds of thousands of visitors, during the height of the 250th anniversary celebrations.
In her letter, Whitmer expressed concern that over a webpage run by the National Guard Joint Task Force D.C., which she noted describes the Safe and Beautiful Mission and “incorrectly lists Michigan as supporting this Mission.” National Guard service members have been stationed in the district since Trump declared a crime emergency in it in August. There are now 4,700 National Guard members from 19 states that are part of the D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force, with legislation moving through Congress seeking to extend the mission through the end of Trump’s term, according to the Pentagon.
“Please take all necessary measures to ensure the Michigan National Guard is only supporting the narrow and limited America 250 Mission and is in no way supporting the D.C. Safe and Beautiful Mission,” the governor told Rogers. “If the National Guard has defined the America 250 Mission to extend beyond direct support for events celebrating the nation’s 250th anniversary, please let me know so we can ensure the Michigan National Guard’s efforts are carefully limited.”
Whitmer is viewed as a possible 2028 Democratic presidential contender, though she has denied interest in running. In the past, she has been seen as someone who has often embraced bipartisan overtones with the Trump administration, choosing at times to work with Washington rather than solely fall back on the anti-Trump stance embraced by many of her colleagues.
“One of the things that I’ve learned is I’ve gotta put the people in Michigan first over my self-interest, over maybe what people assume are gonna be my political interests,” Whitmer said during a Pod Save America interview last summer.
“It doesn’t mean I’ve abandoned any of my values. It doesn’t mean that I’m not gonna stand my ground,” she said. “This is one of those moments where, as a public servant, you’re reminded your job is to put service above self, and that’s what it was all about.”