Ohio Guard Troops Return Home After Washington Deployment

The 150 Ohio National Guard soldiers have come back from Washington, D. C. , where they were sent to help with a federal crime‑control effort. In August, Governor Mike DeWine joined other Republican leaders in sending state troops to the capital. Some Ohio residents worried that federal forces might take over local areas without their approval. DeWine defended the move as a correct decision and said it matched similar actions by other states. He also extended Ohio’s deployment period from the end of November through February. On March 2, a guard spokesperson confirmed that the troops had returned to Ohio last month. While in Washington, they were assigned to patrol streets and guard federal buildings.The exact cost for Ohio’s deployment is unclear, but the federal government spent $496 million in 2025 on National Guard deployments across several cities, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Those funds come from taxpayers nationwide, not state budgets. President Trump praised the deployments as a success in his recent State of the Union speech, claiming crime rates in Washington had dropped dramatically. Official crime data from the Metropolitan Police Department show that violent incidents, including homicides, have fallen 63 % in 2026 compared to the previous year. However, Washington already recorded a 30‑year low in violent crime in 2024 before the Guard’s arrival.