WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump deployed 800 National Guard troops to the streets of Washington, DC, a rare flex of his presidential authority over the military while a court mulls the legality of his prior order sending troops to Los Angeles.

A National Guard deployment reacheed 400 members in Washington as a federal operation began targeting crime and homelessness around the clock Wednesday.

The Democratic mayor reversed her tone towards Trump’s mobilization of the National Guard to combat crime in her city.

National Guard troops pulled up in front of the Washington Monument on Aug. 12. They weren't armed then, but they could be soon, Army officials said.

P resident Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he will seek more permanent federal control of the Washington, D.C., police force as he continues his efforts to ramp-up crime enforcement in the nation's capital.

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Around two dozen soldiers stood guard outside Washington, Union Station in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 14. They had little to do.

D.C. National Guard soldiers temporarily detained a man on Friday who the authorities say assaulted a U.S. Park Police officer on the National Mall. It was the first such action by the Guard since President Trump ordered 800 Guard troops to the streets of the capital this week to help fight crime.