President Trump said Sunday he is removing the National Guard from Washington, D.C. after protests have remained peaceful for a few nights, ending its heavy presence in the wake rioting spurred by the killing of George Floyd, a black man, by a white police officer in Minneapolis.

“I have just given an order for our National Guard to start the process of withdrawing from Washington, D.C., now that everything is under perfect control. They will be going home, but can quickly return, if needed. Far fewer protesters showed up last night than anticipated!” Mr. Trump tweeted.

Utah’s National Guard was evicted from the hotel near downtown earlier in the week by D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, who claimed it was a budget issue.

But Ms. Bowser made it known she did not want military-style police patrolling the streets.

“I have no ability to evict anybody from a private hotel,” the mayor told Fox News on Sunday, suggesting that responsibility fell on the federal government. “We did insist that D.C. residents don’t pay the bills for troops we did not request.”

The use of the National Guard and active-duty military troops to calm the unrest sparked pushback within the president’s ranks — not just amongst Democrats.

Secretary of Defense Mark Esper broke with the president on the use of troops, saying the protests did not meet the heightened level to call for military intervention.

“The option to use active duty forces in a law enforcement role should only be used as a matter of last resort, and only in the most urgent and dire of situations. We are not in one of those situations now,” he told reporters earlier this week.