National Guard personnel deployed to Washington D.C. are tasked with picking up trash as part of the district’s beautification projects, the overseeing military task force said Monday.
A video posted by the D.C. National Guard on X showed troops cleaning an area around a trail. “Today here, we are right outside the waterfront. Had everyone with gloves and trash bags and all the materials they needed, and instructions to head out and pick up the trash,” one member said.
“It feels good to be out here cleaning streets, making D.C. beautiful again. I feel like D.C. really needed this, and I feel like it’s only going to get better and better from here,” added another member.
This week, Soldiers and Airmen conducted site surveys in coordination with federal and local partners to begin community restoration projects. #SafeAndBeautiful pic.twitter.com/AG6d2KDdY1
— District of Columbia National Guard (@DCGuard1802) August 23, 2025
Additional photos uploaded by the D.C. National Guard also show members of Task Force Beautification picking up trash along the Tidal Basin near the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in support of the D.C. Safe and Beautiful mission.
Members of Task Force Beautification picked up trash along the Tidal Basin near the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in support of the D.C. Safe and Beautiful mission. The D.C. National Guard is working closely with @DC_HSEMA and @NatlParkService. pic.twitter.com/tMfoRPB5GA
— District of Columbia National Guard (@DCGuard1802) August 26, 2025
According to the New York Post, a spokesperson for the Joint Task Force – District of Columbia (JTF-DC) said it has identified more than 40 “beautification” projects at several locations including the Tidal Basin, Hains Point, and the Watergate area. Officials did not provide a detailed list of locations and declined to say how often troops will be deployed for cleanup efforts.
The cleanup duties normally fall to the National Park Service, which has seen its landscaping staff shrink from 200 to about 20 workers, The Washington Post reported.
A White House spokesperson confirmed to The Post on Wednesday that some Guard members are supporting cleanup efforts. “The National Guard is playing a variety of roles throughout our nation’s capital to support President [Donald] Trump’s efforts to make D.C. safe and beautiful again,” the official said.
The JTF-DC has 2,234 personnel, including 929 from the D.C. National Guard and 1,305 from the National Guards of Louisiana, Mississippi, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia.
