The Republican governors of West Virginia and South Carolina are deploying hundreds of National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., at the request of the administration of President Donald Trump, who has portrayed the nation's capital as awash in crime.

The move comes as federal agents and National Guard troops have begun to appear across the heavily Democratic city after President Trump's executive order earlier this week.

West Virginia is sending 300 to 400 members of its National Guard to the nation’s capital to assist in the Trump administration’s takeover of the city’s police department.