Trump places D.C. police under federal control and deploys National Guard in nation's capital: What to know
President Trump announced Monday that he is placing police in Washington, D.C., under federal control and deploying National Guard troops as part of what the president described as a crackdown on violent crime and blight in the nation's capital.
'This is liberation day in D.C. We're gonna take our capital back,' Trump told reporters at a press conference at the White House, flanked by members of his administration. 'Our capital city has been overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals, roving mobs of wild youth, drugged-out maniacs and homeless people. And we're not going to let it happen anymore.'
The president said he was taking over the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police and deploying about 800 National Guard troops to 'reestablish law, order and public safety' in the city.
Does Trump have the power to do that?
Broadly speaking, yes.
Trump signed an executive order Monday invoking his powers under Section 40 of the district's Home Rule Act, which gives him the ability to temporarily take federal control of the Metropolitan Police Department. The president said he is enlisting Attorney General Pam Bondi to oversee the takeover of the MPD.
'Crime in D.C. is ending, and it's ending today,' Bondi declared.
The president did not say how long the takeover would last. A White House official later said that the federal takeover of the Metropolitan Police Department is intended to last for 30 days.
Related: Trump invokes the Home Rule Act. What it says he can and can't do.
Trump also issued an executive memorandum authorizing the deployment of the National Guard to address what he described as 'emergency' conditions in the capital.
Unlike in U.S. states, where the governor holds the authority to deploy the National Guard, the president has the power to do so in Washington without the consent of the local government.
And Trump confirmed reports that the FBI is deploying agents to assist local police across the city.
'We will bring in the military if needed,' Trump added.
What is the crime rate in D.C.?
According to preliminary data from the Metropolitan Police Department, crime rates in Washington, D.C., are down.
Violent crime is down 26% this year compared to the same period in 2024. Property crime is down 4%. And overall crime is down 7% since last year.
In an interview with MSNBC on Sunday, Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser pointed to those figures, noting that the violent crime rate is currently at a 30-year low.
"We are not experiencing spikes in crime," Bowser said. 'In fact, we're watching our crime numbers go down.'
The mayor also responded to a recent comment from White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, who said that Washington is 'more violent than Baghdad.'
"Any comparison to a war-torn country is hyperbolic and false," she said.
At her own press conference on Monday afternoon, Bowser called Trump's moves "unsettling and unprecedented," but not surprising.
"While this action today is unsettling and unprecedented, I can't say that given some of the rhetoric of the past that we're totally surprised," Bowser said.
How we got here
The announcement comes after the president threatened to take federal control of the capital following the Aug. 3 beating of a member of the Department of Government Efficiency by a group of teenagers during an attempted carjacking.
According to police, the victim, identified as Edward Coristine, a 19-year-old software engineer, was treated for injuries at the scene. Officers arrested two 15-year-old suspects from Maryland who were charged with attempted carjacking.
At Monday's press conference, Trump said the staffer suffered a broken nose and thought he was going to die.
'He was left dripping in blood,' the president said. 'He thought he was dead.'
Taking the lectern at Trump's request, U.S. Attorney for Washington, D.C., Jeanine Pirro lamented 'weak' laws preventing the federal government from prosecuting minors.
'I see too much violent crime being committed by young punks,' Pirro said.
Trump's crackdown on D.C.'s homeless encampments
In a Truth Social post on Sunday, Trump said the city's homeless should leave D.C.
"The Homeless have to move out, IMMEDIATELY,' Trump wrote in the post, which included photos of homeless encampments taken from his motorcade along the route between the White House and his golf club in Sterling, Va. 'We will give you places to stay, but FAR from the Capital."
Trump told reporters Monday that authorities were already in the process of removing the encampments.
'We're getting rid of the slums too,' Trump added. "If our capital is dirty, our whole country is dirty."
Outside the White House, a group of demonstrators held a rally against Trump's plans to take federal control of the police department.
During the press conference, Trump issued an indirect warning to protesters that he said "love to spit in the face of the police."
"They're standing and they're screaming at them an inch away from their face, and then they start spitting in their face," the president said. "And I said you tell them, 'You spit and we hit.' And they can hit real hard."
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