By Trevor Hunnicutt and Joseph Ax WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Top Trump administration officials on Wednesday thanked troops deployed in the nation's capital and blasted demonstrators opposed to the aggressive anti-crime efforts as "stupid white hippies.

Nearly 1,700 National Guard troops will mobilize across 19 states to assist DHS and ICE with immigration enforcement, Pentagon officials confirmed to Fox News.

President Trump requested National Guard troops from states, locals stand up against federal takeover as it enters the second week.

When the chef Rock Harper read the news this month that President Trump was going to send the National Guard into the streets of Washington, D.C., to crack down on crime, he immediately worried about how this would impact business at Hill Prince, his casual bar and restaurant on the perpetually busy H Street corridor.

Five Republican governors have now deployed National Guard soldiers to Washington, D.C., following President Donald Trump's request to send troops.

The Republican governors of West Virginia, South Carolina and Ohio announced on Saturday that they plan to send hundreds of National Guard troops to Washington, to support the deployment ordered by US President Donald Trump.

The number of troops in the city is expected to grow. But Army officials appear to be trying to keep them on the sidelines of President Trump’s mission.