Trump takes over DC police in extraordinary move, deploys national guard in capital
Trump signalled other major US cities with Democratic leadership could be next, including Chicago, a city that has long been beset by violent crime, though 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.'
During Trump's election campaign his law and order platform often had racial undertones. He singled out majority Democratic cities such as Baltimore, Chicago and Washington, all cities with large black populations, when he spoke about rampant crime in urban areas.
Hundreds of officers and agents from more than a dozen federal agencies have fanned out across Washington in recent days. Attorney general Pam Bondi will oversee the police force, Trump said.
The US army said the national guard troops would carry out tasks including 'administrative, logistics and physical presence in support of law enforcement'. Between 100 and 200 troops would support law enforcement at any given time.
The Democratic mayor of Washington, Muriel Bowser, has pushed back on Trump's claims about unchecked violence, noting violent crime hit its lowest level in more than three decades last year.
Violent crime, including murders, soared in 2023, turning Washington into one of the nation's deadliest cities. However, violent crime dropped 35% in 2024, according to federal data, and has fallen an additional 26% in the first seven months of 2025, according to city police.
Bowser struck a diplomatic tone at a news conference, saying she and other members of her administration would work with the federal government, even as she again rejected Trump's claim of widespread crime.
While Bowser said the law appeared to give the president broad power to take temporary control of the police force, the city's attorney general Brian Schwalb earlier called Trump's actions 'unlawful' and said his office was 'considering all of our options'.
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