President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday tasking his secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, with establishing “specialized units” in the National Guard that will be “specifically trained and equipped to deal with public order issues” — the clearest sign yet he intends to expand the US military’s role in domestic law enforcement activities across the country.

Some National Guard units patrolling the nation’s capital at the direction of President Donald Trump have started carrying firearms, an escalation of his military deployment that makes good on a directive issued late last week by his defense secretary.