Trump takes over DC police in extraordinary move, deploys National Guard in capital

Daily Maverick

2 days ago

800 National Guard troops to be deployed to Washington
President to take direct control of capital city's police
Trump uses urban crime in latest political strategy push
By Trevor Hunnicutt and Nandita Bose
Trump's move, which bypassed the city's elected leaders, was emblematic of his approach to his presidency, wielding executive authority in ways that have little precedent in modern U.S. history and in defiance of political norms.
The president cast his actions as necessary to 'rescue' Washington from what he described as a wave of lawlessness, despite statistics showing that violent crime hit a 30-year low in 2024 and has continued to decline this year.
'I'm deploying the National Guard to help reestablish law, order and public safety in Washington, D.C.,' Trump told a news conference at the White House. 'Our capital city has been overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals.'
It is the second time this summer that the Republican president has deployed troops to a Democratically governed city. Trump sent thousands of National Guard troops to Los Angeles in June over the objections of state and local officials.
And Trump signaled at his news conference that another major U.S. city with Democratic leadership could be next – Chicago, where violent crime was down significantly in the first half of the year.
'If we need to, we're going to do the same thing in Chicago, which is a disaster,' Trump said at the White House, adding, 'Hopefully L.A. is watching.'
Trump has shown particular interest in taking over Washington, which is under the jurisdiction of Congress but exercises self-governance under a 1973 U.S. law.
Hundreds of officers and agents from more than a dozen federal agencies, including the FBI, ICE, DEA and ATF, have fanned out across the city in recent days. Attorney General Pam Bondi will oversee the police force takeover, Trump said.
The Democratic mayor of Washington, Muriel Bowser, has pushed back on Trump's claims of unchecked violence, saying the city is 'not experiencing a crime spike' and highlighting that violent crime hit its lowest level in more than three decades last year.
Violent crime, including murders, spiked in 2023, turning Washington into one of the nation's deadliest cities. Since then, however, violent crime dropped 35% in 2024, according to federal data, and it has fallen an additional 26% in the first seven months of 2025, according to city police.
The city's attorney general, Brian Schwalb, called Trump's actions 'unprecedented, unnecessary and unlawful' in an X post, and said his office was 'considering all of our options.'
Bowser did not immediately comment on Trump's announcement, though other Democrats weighed in.
'Donald Trump has no basis to take over the local police department. And zero credibility on the issue of law and order. Get lost,' House of Representatives Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries wrote on X.
TRUMP RAMPS UP RHETORIC
Over the past week, Trump has intensified his messaging, suggesting he might attempt to strip the city of its local autonomy and implement a full federal takeover.
The District of Columbia, established in 1790, operates under the Home Rule Act, which gives Congress ultimate authority but allows residents to elect a mayor and city council. Trump said last week that lawyers are examining how to overturn the law, a move that would likely require Congress to revoke it.
In taking over the Metropolitan Police Department, Trump invoked a section of the act that allows the president to use the force for 30 days when 'special conditions of an emergency nature' exist. Trump said he was declaring a 'public safety emergency' in the city.
Under the statute, presidential control is 'designed to be a temporary emergency measure, not a permanent takeover,' University of Minnesota law professor Jill Hasday said.
Trump's own Federal Emergency Management Agency is cutting security funding for the National Capital Region, an area that includes D.C. and nearby cities in Maryland and Virginia. The region will receive $20 million less this year from the federal urban security fund, amounting to a 44% year-on-year cut.
TRIAL BEGINS
A federal trial was set to begin on Monday in San Francisco on whether Trump's administration violated U.S. law by deploying 5,000 National Guard troops and U.S. Marines without the approval of Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom.
The troops were sent in response to protests over raids by federal immigration agents. State and local officials objected to Trump's decision as unnecessary, unlawful and inflammatory.
In a post on X, Newsom wrote, 'Washington, DC – here's what you can expect now that the president wants to cosplay as dictator in your city, too: Soldiers sitting around with nothing to do; Lies from all levels of the federal government; No meaningful impact.'
The president has broad authority over the 2,700 members of the D.C. National Guard, unlike in states where governors typically hold the power to activate troops. Guard troops have been dispatched to Washington many times, including in response to the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by a mob of Trump supporters.
During his first term as president, Trump sent the National Guard into Washington in 2020 to help quash mostly peaceful demonstrations during nationwide protests over police brutality following the murder of George Floyd. Civil rights leaders and city leaders denounced the deployment.
Since the 1980s, Trump has used rhetoric on crime, often with racial undertones, as a political tool. His 1989 call for the death penalty in the Central Park jogger case, involving five Black and Latino teens later exonerated of raping and beating a woman, remains among the controversial moments of his public life.
The 'Central Park Five' sued Trump for defamation after he falsely said during a presidential debate last year that they had pleaded guilty.
Washington's population was about 40% Black as of 2020, according to U.S. Census data. Chicago was about 29% Black and 30% Hispanic or Latino, while Los Angeles was about 47% Hispanic or Latino.