Protesters booed and jeered Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller as they came to the station, located blocks from the U.S. Capitol, to thank the troops. The crowd's chants drowned out the voices of the officials.

Six states send National Guard troops to Washington as Trump deploys soldiers to combat crime and federalizes the Metropolitan Police Department.

The National Guard has been deployed many times historically. Experts say the president's decision to deploy the Guard as a blanket response to crime in D.C. is a departure from its intended mission.

The 135 Louisiana National Guard troops sent to join President Donald Trump’s crackdown on crime and homelessness in Washington D.C. had arrived Wednesday to help local law enforcement — and they will stay there “as long as the President needs them,” Gov. Jeff Landry said Wednesday.

The moves come as federal agents and National Guard troops have begun to appear across the heavily Democratic city after President Trump's executive order.

An estimated 1,900 troops are being deployed in D.C. More than half are coming from Republican-led states. Besides Union Station, they've mostly been spotted around downtown areas, including the National Mall and Metro stops.

Mississippi, Tennessee and Louisiana pledged to send National Guard troops to Washington. They could carry weapons in the city.