The deployment of more than 2,600 National Guardsmen in DC, due to end in February after once being extended since August, has again been extended for all of 2026. According to The Washington Post, “The mission is expected to continue including armed patrols in support of law enforcement plus a variety of sanitation and beautification projects. … Outside assessments have said the expense to federal taxpayers could be more than $1 million per day.“

As I’ve posted before, there are a number of them on Capitol Hill, tasked with patrolling the streets (although I haven’t seen them on our street for a long time) and protecting the federally owned Lincoln Park. There isn’t really much to do here, so they sometimes gather in front of the coffee shop across the street from the park. At least the Metropolitan Police Department is no longer required to accompany them.

Stormy skies at Lincoln Park, posted earlier: