National Guard troops arrive in DC as Trump's takeover begins
The influx came the morning after the Republican president announced he would be activating the guard members and taking over the District's police department. He cited a crime emergency — but referred to the same crime that city officials stress is already falling noticeably. The president holds the legal right to make such moves, at least for a month.
Mayor Muriel Bowser pledged to work alongside the federal officials Trump has tasked with overseeing the city's law enforcement, while insisting the police chief remained in charge of the department and its officers.
Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser speaks during a news conference on President Donald Trump's plan to place Washington police under federal control and deploy National guard troops to Washington. (Source: Associated Press)
"How we got here or what we think about the circumstances — right now we have more police, and we want to make sure we use them,' she told reporters.
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The tone was a shift from the day before, when Bowser said Trump's plan to take over the Metropolitan Police Department and call in the National Guard was not a productive step and argued his perceived state of emergency simply doesn't match the declining crime numbers. Still, the law gives the federal government more sway over the capital city than in US states, and Bowser said her administration's ability to push back is limited.
Attorney General Pam Bondi posted on social media that the meeting was productive.
The law allows Trump to take over the DC police for up to 30 days, though White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt suggested it could last longer as they "re-evaluate and reassess" following the monthlong period. Extending federal control past that time would require Congressional approval, something likely tough to achieve in the face of Democratic resistance.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House. (Source: Associated Press)
About 850 federal law enforcement officers were deployed in Washington on Tuesday and arrested 23 people overnight, Leavitt said. The charges, she said, included gun and drug crimes, drunk driving, subway fare evasion and homicide.
The US Park Police has also removed 70 homeless encampments. People who were living in them can leave, go to a homeless shelter or go into drug addiction treatment, Leavitt said. Those who refuse could face fines or jail time.
The city and Trump have had a bumpy relationship
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While Trump invokes his plan by saying that "we're going to take our capital back," Bowser and the MPD maintain that violent crime overall in Washington has decreased to a 30-year low after a sharp rise in 2023. Carjackings, for example, dropped about 50% in 2024 and are down again this year. More than half of those arrested, however, are juveniles, and the extent of those punishments is a point of contention for the Trump administration.
Protesters demonstrate against President Donald Trump's planned use of federal law enforcement and National Guard troops in Washington at a rally in Dupont Circle. (Source: Associated Press)
Bowser, a Democrat, spent much of Trump's first term in office openly sparring with the Republican president. She fended off his initial plans for a military parade through the streets and stood in public opposition when he called in a multi-agency flood of federal law enforcement to confront anti-police brutality protesters in summer 2020. She later had the words "Black Lives Matter" painted in giant yellow letters on the street about a block from the White House.
In Trump's second term, backed by Republican control of both houses of Congress, Bowser has walked a public tightrope for months, emphasizing common ground with the Trump administration on issues such as the successful effort to bring the NFL's Washington Commanders back to the District of Columbia.
She watched with open concern for the city streets as Trump finally got his military parade this summer. Her decision to dismantle Black Lives Matter Plaza earlier this year served as a neat metaphor for just how much the power dynamics between the two executives had evolved.
The morning's headlines in 90 seconds, including the legal fight to get a New Zealand woman and her child out of US immigration detention, sliding house prices, and Taylor Swift's big reveal. (Source: 1News)
Now that fraught relationship enters uncharted territory as Trump has followed through on months of what many DC officials had quietly hoped were empty threats. The new standoff has cast Bowser in a sympathetic light, even among her long-time critics.
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"It's a power play and we're an easy target," said Clinique Chapman, chief executive of the DC Justice Lab. A frequent critic of Bowser, whom she accuses of "over policing our youth" with the recent expansions of Washington's youth curfew, Chapman said Trump's latest move "is not about creating a safer DC. It's just about power".
Tents are set up on a sidewalk near George Washington University. (Source: Associated Press)
Where the power actually lies
Bowser contends that all the power resides with Trump and that local officials can do little other than comply and make the best of it. As long as Washington remains a federal enclave with limited autonomy under the 1973 Home Rule Act, she said, it will remain vulnerable to such takeovers.
Trump is the first president to use the law's Section 740 to take over Washington's police for up to 30 days during times of emergencies.
For Trump, the effort to take over public safety in DC reflects an escalation of his aggressive approach to law enforcement. The District of Columbia's status as a congressionally established federal district gives him a unique opportunity to push his tough-on-crime agenda, though he has not proposed solutions to the root causes of homelessness or crime.
Trump's declaration of a state of emergency fits the general pattern of his second term in office. He has declared states of emergency on issues ranging from border protection to economic tariffs, enabling him to essentially rule via executive order. In many cases, he has moved forward while the courts sorted them out.
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Bowser's claims about successfully driving down violent crime rates received backing earlier this year from an unlikely source. Ed Martin, Trump's original choice for US attorney for the District of Columbia, issued a press release in April hailing a 25% drop in violent crime rates from the previous year.
A member of the District of Columbia National Guard arrives at the District of Columbia National Guard Headquarters. (Source: Associated Press)
In May, Trump abandoned his efforts to get Martin confirmed for the post in the face of opposition in Congress. His replacement candidate, former judge and former Fox News host Jeanine Pirro, was recently confirmed. On Monday, Pirro — standing next to Trump — called his takeover "the step that we need right now to make criminals understand that they are not going to get away with it anymore".
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1News
an hour ago
- 1News
Trump and Putin's high-stakes summit on Russia-Ukraine war looms
US President Donald Trump is meeting face-to-face with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska for a high-stakes summit that could determine not only the trajectory of the war in Ukraine but also the fate of European security. The sit-down on Friday (local time) offers Trump a chance to prove to the world that he is both a master dealmaker and a global peacemaker. He and his allies have cast him as a heavyweight negotiator who can find a way to bring the slaughter to a close — something he used to boast he could do quickly. For Putin, a summit with Trump offers a long-sought opportunity to try to negotiate a deal that would cement Russia's gains, block Kyiv's bid to join the NATO military alliance and eventually pull Ukraine back into Moscow's orbit. There are significant risks for Trump. By bringing Putin onto US soil, the president is giving Russia's leader the validation he desires after his ostracization following his invasion of Ukraine three and a half years ago. The exclusion of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky from the summit also deals a heavy blow to the West's policy of "nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine" and invites the possibility that Trump could agree to a deal that Ukraine does not want. Any success is far from assured, especially as Russia and Ukraine remain far apart in their demands for peace. Putin has long resisted any temporary ceasefire, linking it to a halt in Western arms supplies and a freeze on Ukraine's mobilisation efforts — conditions rejected by Kyiv and its Western allies. ADVERTISEMENT Trump said that even more important than his summit with Putin would be a subsequent meeting that also includes Zelensky, something he suggested could even happen before he departs Alaska — a possibility that Russia hasn't agreed to. Trump said in a Fox News radio interview that he didn't know if there would be "an immediate ceasefire" but he wanted a broad peace deal done quickly. That seemingly echoes Putin's long-time argument that Russia favours a comprehensive deal to end the fighting, reflecting its demands, not a temporary halt to hostilities. The Kremlin said Trump and Putin will first sit down for a one-on-one discussion, followed by the two delegations meeting and talks continuing over "a working breakfast". They are then expected to hold a joint press conference. US President Donald Trump, left, and Russian President Vladimir Putin shake hands at the beginning of a meeting at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki, Finland, July 16, 2018. (Source: Associated Press) Trump's shifting explanations for his meeting goals In the days leading up to the summit, set for a military base near Anchorage, Trump described it as "really a feel-out meeting". But he's also warned of "very severe consequences" for Russia if Putin doesn't agree to end the war and said that, although Putin might bully other leaders, "he's not going to mess around with me". Trump's repeated suggestions that a deal would likely involve "some swapping of territories" — which disappointed Ukraine and European allies — along with his controversial history with Putin have some sceptical about what kind of agreement can be reached. ADVERTISEMENT Ian Kelly, a retired career foreign service officer who served as the US ambassador to Georgia during the Obama and first Trump administrations, said he sees "no upside for the US, only an upside for Putin". "The best that can happen is nothing, and the worst that can happen is that Putin entices Trump into putting more pressure on Zelensky," Kelly said. George Beebe, the former director of the CIA's Russia analysis team who is now affiliated with the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, said there's a serious risk of blown expectations or misunderstandings for a high-level summit pulled together so quickly. "That said, I doubt President Trump would be going into a meeting like this unless there had been enough work done behind the scenes for him to feel that there is a decent chance that something concrete will come out of it," Beebe said. Zelenskyy has time and again cast doubts on Putin's willingness to negotiate in good faith. His European allies, who've held increasingly urgent meetings with US leaders over the past week, have stressed the need for Ukraine to be involved in any peace talks. Political commentators in Moscow, meanwhile, have relished that the summit leaves Ukraine and its European allies on the sidelines. Dmitry Suslov, a pro-Kremlin voice, expressed hope that the summit will "deepen a trans-Atlantic rift and weaken Europe's position as the toughest enemy of Russia". ADVERTISEMENT European leaders who consulted with Trump this week said the president assured them he would prioritise trying to achieve a ceasefire. Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and U.S. President Donald Trump give a joint news conference at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki, Finland, July 16, 2018. (Source: Associated Press) Summit could have far-reaching implications Foreign governments will be watching closely to see how Trump reacts to Putin, likely gauging what the interaction might mean for their own dealings with the US president, who has eschewed traditional diplomacy for his own transactional approach to relationships. The meeting comes as the war has caused heavy losses on both sides and drained resources. Ukraine has held on far longer than some initially expected since the February 2022 invasion, but it is straining to hold off Russia's much larger army, grappling with bombardments of its cities and fighting for every inch on the over 1000km front line. Andrea Kendall-Taylor, a senior fellow and director of the Transatlantic Security Program at the Centre for a New American Security, said US antagonists like China, Iran and North Korea will be paying attention to Trump's posture to see "whether or not the threats that he continues to make against Putin are indeed credible". ADVERTISEMENT "Or, if has been the past track record, he continues to back down and look for ways to wiggle out of the kind of threats and pressure he has promised to apply," said Kendall-Taylor, who is also a former senior intelligence officer. While some have objected to the location of the summit, Trump has said he thought it was "very respectful" of Putin to come to the US instead of a meeting in Russia. Sergei Markov, a pro-Kremlin Moscow-based analyst, observed that the choice of Alaska as the summit's venue "underlined the distancing from Europe and Ukraine". Being on a military base allows the leaders to avoid protests and meet more securely, but the location carries its own significance because of its history and location. Alaska, which the US purchased from Russia in 1867, is separated from Russia at its closest point by less than 5km and the international date line. Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson was crucial to countering the Soviet Union during the Cold War. It continues to play a role today, as planes from the base still intercept Russian aircraft that regularly fly into US airspace.
NZ Herald
9 hours ago
- NZ Herald
Trump's answer to numbers he doesn't like is to change them or throw them away
The President's manipulation of government data threatens to erode public trust in facts that leaders of both parties have long relied on to guide policy decisions. A breakdown in official government statistics could also create economic instability, restrain lifesaving healthcare and limit forecasts of natural disasters. Trump has routinely spread misinformation since the start of his political career, but his efforts in his second term to bend data to support his agenda have invited comparisons to information control in autocratic countries. 'What he's trying to do is to present the best possible picture of what he's doing, even if that means he has to cook the numbers, even if that means he has to distort the data,' said Robert Cropf, a political science professor at St Louis University. 'It's basically a page from the authoritarian playbook.' Trump has also tried to use his social media megaphone to influence data produced by private companies. On Tuesday, he called for Goldman Sachs to replace a veteran economist who produced reports that warned that tariffs could cause inflation. But he may find himself in a game of whack-a-mole. Today, a benchmark that measures the prices producers get for goods and services showed hotter-than-expected inflation, partly because of tariffs. Trump has not commented yet on the report. Risk of undermining stats Other countries have demonstrated the risk of undermining statistics, which can erode citizens' trust in their government and nations' standing in the international community. China has been widely accused of inflating economic figures, prompting other countries to seek alternative data sources for a more trustworthy picture of the nation's financial situation. In Greece, the government produced false deficit numbers for years, and the government repeatedly sought to criminally prosecute the statistician who produced accurate budget figures. Argentina manipulated economic statistics for years to minimise the extent of inflation, even as consumers paid for significantly more expensive groceries and goods. The false deficit numbers in Greece contributed to the country's debt crisis. The cooked numbers in Argentina made it more difficult for the government to enact policies that could limit inflation, and citizens lost faith in the ability to trust the government data to inform major purchases. Need for accurate picture White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said that the President's actions are intended to 'restore' Americans' trust in data so they can make their own decisions. 'President Trump is preserving – not eroding – democracy by ensuring that the American people can rely on Government data that actually reflects reality,' Rogers said in a statement. Government statistics have traditionally been considered more reliable and comprehensive than those collected by private sector companies motivated by profits, said Paul Schroeder, the executive director of the Council of Professional Associations on Federal Statistics. The data is needed to provide an accurate picture of what is happening. Without it, governments, corporations and individuals lack information that can inform decisions about everything from mortgage rates to weight loss. 'It's almost like an airline pilot losing his instrument panel when driving the plane,' Schroeder said of the erosion. Trump's decision to fire Bureau of Labour Statistics Commissioner Erika McEntarfer was widely condemned by statisticians and economists, who warned that the move could have a chilling effect on the work of federal number crunchers who produce reports the President doesn't like. Trump claimed without evidence that the nation's job statistics were 'rigged', following a revision to the May and June jobs figures that showed the labour market was weaker than previously known. Revisions to job reports are common, but many economists have acknowledged falling response rates to government surveys, and long-standing budget strains have made it harder for economic agencies to collect and analyse reliable data. 'President Trump believes that businesses, households, and policymakers deserve accurate data to inform their decision-making, and he will restore America's trust in the BLS,' Rogers said. US President Donald Trump throws pens to the crowd after signing executive orders during the inaugural parade inside Capital One Arena, in Washington, DC, on January 20, 2025. Photo / Jim Watson, AFP Plan to overhaul census Trump's attempts to change how the Government collects data have invited backlash, especially his proposal to overhaul the census amid a fight over redistricting. Civil liberties groups have said they would challenge any attempt to change the census, warning that the President's proposal to eliminate undocumented immigrants from the count could erode the political power and financial resources of diverse communities. The census is used not only to determine congressional seats but also to distribute federal funding and decide where to build schools. Washington DC crime Trump justified his decision to deploy federal law enforcement and the National Guard on DC streets with claims that crime is surging in Washington, but violent crime in DC has been on the decline since 2023. The White House has cast doubt on the accuracy of local statistics, citing a July NBC News report that said that the District suspended a police commander accused of manipulating crime numbers in his district. Rogers added that the data 'doesn't change the on-the-ground reality that many DC residents and visitors have experienced on our streets'. In other instances, the Administration has halted the collection of data that advocates and experts warn is essential for Americans' wellbeing and safety. Collection of health data At the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, scientists are now forbidden to collect gender data on any programmes. That includes abortion data and information for sexually transmitted disease prevention, violence prevention and mental health programmes. The lack of data could undermine efforts to prevent the spread of STDs and prevent school shootings and suicides. Federal collection of abortion data stopped on April 1 following widespread layoffs across the Department of Health and Human Services. Most states put out their own abortion data, but no other federal agency collects abortion data, according to a former CDC employee familiar with those programmes. The Government uses the data to predict birth rates, a crucial statistic that governments and businesses use to make decisions about the health system, education and the economy. CDC staff members are also no longer collecting concussion data for the creation of a concussion surveillance system, which has had strong bipartisan congressional support. The agency is also no longer analysing data to prevent drowning – the leading cause of death in children aged 1 to 4 – because all of those staff members were laid off. Tracking the drug crisis Researchers have warned about the diminishing of data programmes that are key to understanding the ever-evolving drug crisis in the US – and to building the best prevention and treatment programmes. In June, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration stopped updating the Drug Abuse Warning Network, a nationwide surveillance system of drug use trends and insights drawn from emergency department visits. The loss of that data will make it more difficult for researchers such as Daniel Ciccarone, a professor at the University of California at San Francisco School of Medicine, to track street drugs and overdoses. Ciccarone studies trends in the fentanyl supply, which kills tens of thousands of Americans each year, as well as new synthetic drugs seeping into regional supplies. 'We need surveillance data at a historic time of an undulating drug supply – we don't know what's going to happen next,' Ciccarone said. Vaping might seem safer than smoking, but the long-term risks are starting to show. Photo / 123RF Stats on smoking, vaping Public health advocates have raised concerns about the future of the National Youth Tobacco Survey, an annual report that measures how young people are using nicotine products. The report helped alert the country to the epidemic of teen vaping and led to stricter controls on the industry. The programme has long been run through the Food and Drug Administration and the CDC's Office on Smoking and Health, which was shut down in the northern spring. An HHS spokesperson did not respond when asked about the future of the survey, saying only that the CDC 'remains deeply committed to tobacco prevention and control and … continues to support this critical public health priority through a range of efforts, including outreach, education, and surveillance'. Research on climate The Trump Administration has also discontinued dozens of climate databases and government-funded studies, including efforts to quantify the damage caused by natural disasters and to understand how the heaviest rainfall will intensify as the planet warms. Officials have removed key climate data and reports from the internet. The Administration took down the website of the US Global Change Research Programme, which shared congressionally mandated reports about climate change impacts across the country. And it deleted a repository for research and forecasts, though it said such information would continue to be posted on a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration website. Trump's budget proposal for Noaa would eliminate nearly all of the agency's labs focused on climate, weather and oceans – institutions whose studies are key to weather and climate forecasting and improving our understanding of everything from summer thunderstorms to the El Nino climate pattern. Businesses rely on this data to inform plans for tourism, fisheries and shipping. Education staff cuts The changes reflect the Administration's commitment to 'eliminating bias and producing Gold Standard Science research driven by verifiable data,' Rogers said in a statement. As the Trump Administration attempts to shut the Education Department, its ability to publish accurate and timely data was thrown into question after deep cuts to the department's staff. Virtually the entire staff of the National Centre for Education Statistics was laid off, and while much of the work is done by contractors, researchers worry that there are no longer enough government workers to check and disseminate collected data. The centre's work is critical to researchers, policymakers and journalists, with a wide range of data including the demographics of students and schools, courses offered, crime on campuses, and school spending. Already, the Education Department missed its June deadline to publish the annual Condition of Education report, the authoritative source for education data from preschool through into university. The agency has continued to publish some data tables, but far fewer than in past years. Information on race The Trump Administration has also called for more information about the consideration of applicants' race in college admissions. 'Greater transparency is essential to exposing unlawful practices and ultimately ridding society of shameful, dangerous racial hierarchies,' Trump said in a memorandum issued last week, as he ordered the Education Department to begin collecting detailed data from all colleges that receive federal financial aid. That includes grades and test scores for both applicants and students, broken down by race. The White House has argued that a lack of data has hindered enforcement of a 2023 Supreme Court ruling that the use of race-conscious admissions is unconstitutional. A higher education leader argued that the information requested won't provide good data: applicants don't disclose their race, and while colleges do survey students who enrol, participation is voluntary, and even those who respond may choose not to disclose their race. 'They're going to gather a bunch of information and try to make sense of it,' said Ted Mitchell, president of the American Council on Education. 'I worry that they're not going to be able to make much sense of it.' Legacy of changes The impact of these changes could affect the nation long after Trump leaves office, Cropf said. Even if the Government resumes collecting data, there will be gaps from the Trump era, and the public may view the figures as more politicised. 'It taints the waters,' he said. 'It seriously undermines faith in our institutions if we can't have any guarantees the institutions are providing us with reliable data or that they're making decisions based on reliable data.'
NZ Herald
10 hours ago
- NZ Herald
What each side wants from Alaska summit, including those on the sidelines
High stakes: Trump and Putin's summit amid Ukraine tensions. Photo / Getty Images In a draft peace plan published in June, Russia called on Ukraine to withdraw its forces from the Kherson, Lugansk, Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk regions that Moscow claimed to annex in 2022. Ukraine has rejected the idea. Russia has also called on Ukraine to halt its military mobilisation, abandon its Nato ambitions, and for Western countries to immediately stop weapon supplies – something critics say amounts to capitulation. In addition to territory, Russia wants Ukraine to ensure the 'rights and freedoms' of the Russian-speaking population and to prohibit what it calls the 'glorification of Nazism'. It also wants Western sanctions lifted. Ukraine says Russia's allegations of Nazism are absurd and that it already guarantees rights to Russian speakers. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is not scheduled to take part in the summit, but has said there can be no peace deal without the country's involvement. He has called the meeting a 'personal victory' for Putin. Ukraine has called for an unconditional ceasefire on land, sea and sky as a prerequisite to peace talks. It wants both sides to release all prisoners of war and demanded the return of Ukrainian children it says Russia illegally kidnapped. Ukraine says Russia has forcibly transferred thousands of Ukrainian children into areas under its control since the war began, often adopting them into Russian families and assigning them Russian citizenship. Russia rejects the kidnapping allegations but acknowledges that thousands of children are on its territory. Ukraine says any deal must include security guarantees to prevent Russia from attacking again, and that there should be no restrictions on the number of troops it can deploy on its territory. It says sanctions on Russia can only be lifted gradually and that there should be a way of reimposing them if needed. United States President Trump promised he would end the war within '24 hours' after taking office in January. But eight months on, and even after repeated calls with Putin and several visits to Russia by US envoy Steve Witkoff, he has failed to extract any major concessions from the Kremlin. The summit is his first opportunity to broker a deal in person. The US President, author of the book Trump: The Art of the Deal said that Russia would face 'very severe consequences' if it did not halt its offensive. Trump hopes to broker a deal, but expectations for a breakthrough are low. Photo / Mandel Ngan, AFP The US leader initially said there would be some 'land swapping going on' at the talks, but appeared to walk back after speaking with European leaders. Trump has said he would 'like to see a ceasefire very, very quickly'. But the White House has played down expectations of a breakthrough, describing it as a 'listening exercise' for the former reality TV star. 'If the first one goes okay, we'll have a quick second one,' Trump said, hinting Zelenskyy could take part in a subsequent summit. Despite providing military support for Ukraine and hosting millions of Ukrainian refugees, Europe's leaders have been sidelined from the peace talks that may affect the region's security architecture in the future. European representatives were neither invited to the past three meetings between Russian and Ukrainian officials in Istanbul, nor to the Russia-US talks in Riyadh in February. In a statement last week, the leaders of Britain, France, Italy, Germany, Poland, Finland and the EU Commission warned there could be no meaningful peace without Ukraine's participation. 'Territorial questions concerning Ukraine can be, and will be, negotiated only by the Ukrainian president,' French President Emmanuel Macron said after speaking with Trump yesterday. Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer have signalled they are willing to deploy peacekeepers in Ukraine once the fighting ends, an idea Russia has vehemently rejected. -Agence France-Presse
