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WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 The cherry blossoms<\/a><\/span> draw more than a million visitors to Washington\u2019s Tidal Basin annually. This year was no different, except some strolling the area between the Lincoln Memorial and the Thomas Jefferson Memorial were dressed in camouflage — and armed.<\/p>\n Eight months after President Donald Trump declared a crime emergency in the nation\u2019s capital<\/a><\/span> and called up the National Guard, more than 2,500 troops remain, in a deployment that has grown increasingly routine, with no clear end in sight.<\/p>\n Deployments to other cities have ended or been paused by courts in California and Illinois<\/a><\/span>, while more limited operations are ongoing in cities including New Orleans. But in Washington, guard members still walk city streets and patrol metro stations, tourist attractions, neighborhoods and parks. <\/p>\n Even with pivotal elections looming this year, that lingering presence is barely mentioned in city council meetings or by candidates running for mayor and Congress \u2014 perhaps reflecting both competing priorities and a sense that local officials have little power to stop it. Unless the courts step in, the guard will remain at least through the end of the year<\/a><\/span>, if not longer.<\/p>\n \u201cTaxpayers are paying more than a million dollars a day<\/a><\/span> to have them walk around,\u201d said Phil Mendelson, chairman of the District of Columbia Council, in an emailed response to questions.<\/p>\n And, he said, \u201cthe presence of armed soldiers on American streets is not a good look.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump, a Republican, issued an executive order<\/a><\/span> in August to deal with what he called a crime emergency. The order brought the guard in, along with hundreds of additional federal law enforcement officers.<\/p>\n Over the months, guard members have responded to medical emergencies, assisted with arrests, helped local police enforce the city\u2019s juvenile curfew and carried out beautification projects<\/a><\/span>. The D.C. Guard helped with snow removal during a major storm in January.<\/p>\n While the guard members do not make arrests, the Trump administration argues their support to the broader mission has helped reduce crime. The White House said 12,000 arrests have been made by the task force since operations began, including 62 known gang members, and thousands of illegal firearms were seized. <\/p>\n White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said the president\u2019s crime task force in the city has \u201cyielded tremendous results for local communities.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEvery local leader should want to mimic this success in their own locales,\u201d Jackson said. <\/p>\n But officials disagree over how much credit the deployment can be given in Washington, a heavily Democratic city. Figures show crime was already on the decline before, although those figures are being investigated after claims arose against local police<\/a><\/span> that they may have been manipulated. <\/p>\n A court battle<\/a><\/span> over the guard deployment is ongoing, and without a judge stepping in it could go on as long as the White House wants.<\/p>\n Asked how long the guard deployment would continue, Jackson said in an email that there were \u201cno announcements to make.\u201d<\/p>\n The office of D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb, which is challenging the deployment in court, declined to comment, citing the pending lawsuit. The National Guard Bureau at the Pentagon did not answer requests for comment.<\/p>\n Mayor Muriel Bowser<\/a><\/span>, who is not running for reelection, has walked a fine line<\/a><\/span> on the guard\u2019s deployment and the broader federal intervention, at once appearing to work with the president but also pushing back on some of his demands, like local cooperation for immigration enforcement.<\/p>\n Leading candidates to replace Bowser and the city\u2019s 18-term non-voting delegate in Congress, Eleanor Holmes Norton<\/a><\/span>, have focused on affordability, statehood and trying to hold federal agencies accountable for their role in the surge.<\/p>\n The District Council, which includes at least four candidates for mayor or delegate, unanimously approved a measure to increase transparency in federal law enforcement operations. While the military deployment is mentioned at times on campaign websites and in ads, it isn\u2019t currently a central campaign issue.<\/p>\n Other pressures on the city, including unemployment and lost revenue tied to federal workforce cuts, have taken priority. The city\u2019s primaries are June 16, along with a special election for an at-large city council seat.<\/p>\nAn indefinite deployment drags on<\/h2>\n
Guard presence absent from public discourse<\/h2>\n