From PBS NewsHour.

President Donald Trump said Thursday that federal officers now patrolling the streets of the nation’s capital aren’t being redirected from higher priority assignments.

Trump said that there’s a “very small force” of federal officers in Washington, D.C. The president directed National Guard troops be deployed Tuesday to combat crime and clear homeless encampments. Crime, particularly violent offenses, has been falling in D.C. and nationally for months, reaching pre-pandemic levels. Last year, violent crime in D.C. hit a 30-year-low.

Trump made the remarks while speaking to reporters at an event in the Oval Office to mark the 90th anniversary of Social Security.

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