Mayor Muriel Bowser slams Donald Trump's takeover of DC police as ‘unsettling'
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Bowser said the police department's structure had not changed, pushing back on Trump's earlier claim of a federal takeover.
Trump said the capital 'has been overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals, roving mobs of wild youth, drugged out maniacs and homeless people,' and added that the police are now 'allowed to do whatever the hell they want.'
Also Read: After Trump's DC takeover, New York and Mamdani in focus: '…in a little while'
Bowser cites crime drop, rejects Trump's emergency claim
Bowser defended the department's work, pointing to a drop in crime since a spike in 2023, and dismissed what she called a 'so-called emergency' that led to Trump's order, per the outlet.
'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. 'I can say to D.C. residents that we will continue to operate our government in a way that makes you proud.'
She said the city would comply with the order and continue meeting federal law enforcement officials to plan coordination. But she stressed that while she would work with Attorney General Pam Bondi and Terry Cole, who Trump appointed as federal commissioner to the Washington police, the city's officers still reported to her.
'Nothing about our organisational chart has changed, and nothing in the executive order would indicate otherwise. So the chief of police reports through the deputy mayor to the mayor of the District of Columbia, and the two people, I think, that were identified in the presser report to Attorney General Bondi,' she said.
Law lets Trump control DC police for 30 days
A rarely used provision of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act allows Trump to take over the police department for up to 30 days if he notifies certain congressional leaders. The law also gives Congress broader oversight of the city government, according to the outlet.
Bowser said the arrangement forced her to comply with federal orders but argued that statehood for Washington would likely prevent such moves.
She said, 'If people are concerned about the president being able to move the National Guard into our city, the time to do that would have been when the Congress had a bill that it could have given control of the D.C. National Guard to D.C.,'
She added, 'So there are things that, when a city is not a state, and not fully autonomous, and doesn't have senators, that the federal government can do.'
Some officers backed Trump's action. Gregg Pemberton, head of the police union, called the intervention 'a critical stopgap,' per the outlet.
'We stand with the President in recognising that Washington, DC, cannot continue on this trajectory. Crime is out of control, and our officers are stretched beyond their limits,' he said.
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