National Guard members are cleaning up the Washington D.C. streets from crime and the trash on its streets. Videos that have gone viral on X show National Guard members carrying trash bags and picking up garbage in the heart of D.C.. Take a look: Activated National Guard members for the D.C. federal takeover seen picking up trashpic.twitter.com/1QEwmF3maj — Molly Ploofkins (@Mollyploofkins) August 26, 2025 The National Guard revealed that the trash pickup is part of the Trump administration’s quest to beautify the nation’s capital. NBC Washington reported more on the restoration process: Members of the National Guard deployed to D.C. will pick up trash and work on dozens of “beautification and restoration” projects, the military task force overseeing all troops in the District said Monday. The D.C. National Guard posted a video on social media showed troops cleaning up an area around a trail. They were shown hauling several garbage bags. “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,” a member says. “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,” said a member who said he’s a Southeast D.C. native. 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 The New York Post reported D.C. residents feel safe now that the National Guard is patrolling the streets: President Trump’s takeover of Washington, DC, has put hundreds of federal agents and National Guard troops on the streets of the capital to clean up crime — and a lot of residents and business owners said they’re noticing that things feel safer already. “All my employees, including me, we feel much more safe, and even our customers feel really happy when they walk into our store,” Indu Bhatia, who runs a liquor store half a mile from the White House, told The Post. Bhatia said her store was robbed so many times they had to sink piles of cash into renovations to increase security. “All we can do as a small business owner is protect yourself,” she said. The video player is currently playing an ad. It’s not just about the National Guard and federal agents on the streets, she said — Trump also took over the Metropolitan Police Department, for the better. “I think the local cops have been doing the job, surely, better,” Bhatia added. Washington has long been one of America’s most violent major cities — with a murder rate that outstrips Chicago and is nearly seven times higher than New York City. Violence has been trending down so far this year, but certain categories of crime that affect everyday Washingtonians have skyrocketed since the pre-pandemic era. WATCH: D.C. residents tell the real story about living in the district pic.twitter.com/PEyZ1w2FJS — Breaking911 (@Breaking911) August 20, 2025