Trump says he will take control of Washington DC police, deploy National Guard to US capital
Trevor Hunnicutt
and
Nandita Bose
, Reuters
US President Donald Trump shows crime statistics at a press conference, as he announces he will place the DC Metropolitan Police Department under federal control.
Photo:
Andrew Harnik / Getty Images via AFP
President Donald Trump said he was putting Washington's police department under federal control and ordering the
National Guard to deploy to the nation's capital
to combat what he said was a wave of lawlessness, despite statistics showing that violent crime hit a 30-year low in 2024.
"I'm deploying the National Guard to help reestablish law, order and public safety in Washington, DC," Trump told reporters at the White House, flanked by administration officials including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Attorney General Pam Bondi. "Our capital city has been overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals."
Trump's announcement is his latest effort to target Democratic-run cities by
exercising executive power over traditionally local matters
, and he has shown particular interest in asserting more control over Washington.
The Republican president has dismissed
criticism that he is manufacturing a crisis to justify expanding presidential authority in a heavily Democratic city
.
Hundreds of officers and agents from over a dozen federal agencies, including the
FBI
, ICE, DEA, and ATF, have fanned out across the city in recent days.
Trump said he would also send in the US military "if needed," and Hegseth said he was prepared to call in additional National Guard troops from outside Washington. Bondi will oversee the police force takeover, Trump said.
In making his announcement, Trump described Washington as a hellscape of bloodthirsty criminals and unchecked violence.
The Democratic major of Washington, Muriel Bowser, has pushed back on Trump's claims, 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 fell 26 percent in the first seven months of 2025 after dropping 35 percent in 2024, and overall crime dropped 7 percent, according to the city's police department.
Local residents rally against US President Donald Trump's plans to activate federal law enforcement in Washington, DC.
Photo:
MANDEL NGAN / AFP
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 temporarily when "special conditions of an emergency nature" exist. Trump said he was declaring a "public safety emergency" in the city.
Trump's own Federal Emergency Management Agency is cutting security funding for the National Capital Region, an area that includes DC 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 percent year-on-year cut.
The deployment of National Guard troops is a
tactic the president used in Los Angeles
, where he dispatched 5000 troops in June in response to protests over his administration's immigration raids. State and local officials objected to Trump's decision as unnecessary and inflammatory.
A federal trial was set to begin on Monday (local time) in San Francisco on whether the Trump administration violated US law by deploying National Guard troops and US Marines without the approval of Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom.
The president has broad authority over the 2700 members of the DC 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 6 January, 2021, attack on the US Capitol building by a mob of Trump supporters.
During his first term, 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 denounced the deployment, which was opposed by Bowser.
The US military is generally prohibited under law from directly participating in domestic law enforcement activities.
Since the 1980s, Trump has used crime, especially youth crime in cities, 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.
- Reuters
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Otago Daily Times
2 hours ago
- Otago Daily Times
Trump takes over DC police, deploys National Guard
US President Donald Trump said on Monday he was deploying 800 National Guard troops to Washington and temporarily taking over the city's police department, an extraordinary assertion of presidential power in the nation's capital. Trump's move, which bypassed the city's elected leaders, was emblematic of his second-term approach, which has seen him wield executive authority in ways with little precedent in modern US history and in defiance of political norms. The president cast his actions as necessary to "rescue" Washington from a purported wave of lawlessness. Statistics show that violent crime shot up in 2023 but has been rapidly declining since. "Our capital city has been overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals," Trump told a news conference at the White House. 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 signalled that other major US cities with Democratic leadership could be next, including Chicago, a city that has long been beset by violent crime, although it 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 LA 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 US 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 US Army said the National Guard troops would carry out a number of tasks, including "administrative, logistics and physical presence in support of law enforcement." Between 100 and 200 of the troops would be supporting law enforcement at any given time. 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. 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 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. Trump on Monday invoked a section of the act that allows the president to take over the police force for 30 days when "emergency" conditions exist. Trump said he was declaring a "public safety emergency" in the city. Trump's own Federal Emergency Management Agency is cutting security funding for the National Capital Region, an area that includes D.C. and parts of 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. Trump also vowed to remove homeless encampments, though he did not provide details on how or where homeless people would be moved. The federal government owns much of Washington's parkland, so the Trump administration has legal authority to clear homeless encampments in those areas, as President Joe Biden did while in office. But the federal government cannot force people to move out of the city because they lack shelter, advocates for the homeless said. TRIAL BEGINS A federal trial began on Monday in San Francisco on whether Trump violated US law by deploying 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 US Marines in Los Angeles 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. 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 US Capitol by a mob of Trump supporters. During his first term, 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.
NZ Herald
3 hours ago
- NZ Herald
Trump deploys National Guard in Washington crime crackdown
President Donald Trump has announced that he was deploying National Guard troops and putting the Washington police force under federal control to tackle crime in the US capital. Photo / Andrew Caballero-Reynolds, AFP Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech. President Donald Trump has announced that he was deploying National Guard troops and putting the Washington police force under federal control to tackle crime in the US capital. Photo / Andrew Caballero-Reynolds, AFP Donald Trump has deployed military and federal law enforcement to curb violent crime in Washington, as he seeks to make good on his campaign pledge to be a 'law and order' President. The Republican leader said he would place the city's Metropolitan Police under federal Government control while also sending the National Guard on to the streets of the US capital. The overwhelmingly Democratic city faces allegations from Republican politicians that it is overrun by crime, plagued by homelessness and financially mismanaged – although violent offences are down. 'This is Liberation Day in DC, and we're going to take our capital back,' Trump said. Trump – a convicted felon who granted blanket clemency to nearly 1600 people involved in the 2021 US Capitol riot in Washington – has complained that local police and prosecutors aren't tough enough.
RNZ News
5 hours ago
- RNZ News
Trump says he will take control of Washington DC police, deploy National Guard to US capital
By Trevor Hunnicutt and Nandita Bose , Reuters US President Donald Trump shows crime statistics at a press conference, as he announces he will place the DC Metropolitan Police Department under federal control. Photo: Andrew Harnik / Getty Images via AFP President Donald Trump said he was putting Washington's police department under federal control and ordering the National Guard to deploy to the nation's capital to combat what he said was a wave of lawlessness, despite statistics showing that violent crime hit a 30-year low in 2024. "I'm deploying the National Guard to help reestablish law, order and public safety in Washington, DC," Trump told reporters at the White House, flanked by administration officials including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Attorney General Pam Bondi. "Our capital city has been overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals." Trump's announcement is his latest effort to target Democratic-run cities by exercising executive power over traditionally local matters , and he has shown particular interest in asserting more control over Washington. The Republican president has dismissed criticism that he is manufacturing a crisis to justify expanding presidential authority in a heavily Democratic city . Hundreds of officers and agents from over a dozen federal agencies, including the FBI , ICE, DEA, and ATF, have fanned out across the city in recent days. Trump said he would also send in the US military "if needed," and Hegseth said he was prepared to call in additional National Guard troops from outside Washington. Bondi will oversee the police force takeover, Trump said. In making his announcement, Trump described Washington as a hellscape of bloodthirsty criminals and unchecked violence. The Democratic major of Washington, Muriel Bowser, has pushed back on Trump's claims, 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 fell 26 percent in the first seven months of 2025 after dropping 35 percent in 2024, and overall crime dropped 7 percent, according to the city's police department. Local residents rally against US President Donald Trump's plans to activate federal law enforcement in Washington, DC. Photo: MANDEL NGAN / AFP 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 temporarily when "special conditions of an emergency nature" exist. Trump said he was declaring a "public safety emergency" in the city. Trump's own Federal Emergency Management Agency is cutting security funding for the National Capital Region, an area that includes DC 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 percent year-on-year cut. The deployment of National Guard troops is a tactic the president used in Los Angeles , where he dispatched 5000 troops in June in response to protests over his administration's immigration raids. State and local officials objected to Trump's decision as unnecessary and inflammatory. A federal trial was set to begin on Monday (local time) in San Francisco on whether the Trump administration violated US law by deploying National Guard troops and US Marines without the approval of Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom. The president has broad authority over the 2700 members of the DC 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 6 January, 2021, attack on the US Capitol building by a mob of Trump supporters. During his first term, 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 denounced the deployment, which was opposed by Bowser. The US military is generally prohibited under law from directly participating in domestic law enforcement activities. Since the 1980s, Trump has used crime, especially youth crime in cities, 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. - Reuters
