Trump takes over DC police in extraordinary move

Perth Now

3 days ago

US President Donald Trump is deploying 800 National Guard troops to Washington DC, and putting the city's police department under federal control, 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 approach to his presidency, wielding executive authority in ways that have little precedent in modern US 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 re-establish law, order and public safety in Washington, DC," 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 Democrat-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 at his news conference that another major US 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 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 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 per cent in 2024, according to federal data, and it has fallen an additional 26 per cent 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".
"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.
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 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.