Axios NWA dispatch from Washington, D.C.
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National Guard troops escort a member of the Honor Flight Tri-State along the National Mall on Wednesday. Photo: Worth Sparkman/Axios
Even without camouflage, National Guard members would've been hard to spot in Washington, D.C., this week.
The big picture: Axios convened its national and local editorial staff in the nation's capital to connect and discuss ways to strengthen and continue our unbiased, clinical journalism that helps readers get smarter, faster.
Driving the news: All eyes have been on the city since mid-August, when President Trump took control of the city's police and deployed the National Guard to crackdown on crime there.
- We were in town during the final hours of the 30-day Home Rule Act, which granted Trump the temporary takeover. It's the first time a president has invoked its use.
What we saw: Mostly business as usual.
- There were details of three or four National Guard troops here and there, but they were either winding down operations or otherwise in places we weren't.
- There weren't military vehicles or a show of force much greater than on other visits. The same number of daily protesters usually present in D.C. were still there.
- Worth only saw one group with long guns, and it was late at night on a quiet, commercial street.
- Alex saw a few guards around some museums.
Zoom out: The city has seen protests against the takeover and a decline in tourism rates. D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb also sued to end the takeover.
- Data show violent crime in D.C. is on the decline, despite Trump's claims that it's rising, Axios' Anna Spiegel writes.
The latest: Though the Home Rule Act expired, about 950 troops from the D.C. Guard will remain on duty in Washington, D.C., through Nov. 30.
What we're watching: It remains to be seen if the administration will send the National Guard to other locations. On Monday, the Trump administration launched an Immigration and Customs Enforcement crackdown in Chicago, after weeks of the president saying he may deploy the Guard there.
- Memphis Mayor Paul Young said Thursday that his city is being considered for a deployment.
