Trump to take control of DC police, deploy National Guard amid 'lawlessness' claims
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US President Donald Trump said on Monday 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 described as a wave of lawlessness, despite statistics showing 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, D C.,' 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 marks his latest effort to target Democratic cities by exercising executive power over traditionally local matters. He has dismissed criticism that he is manufacturing a crisis to justify expanding presidential authority. Hundreds of officers and agents from more than a dozen federal agencies, including the FBI, ICE, DEA, and ATF, have already fanned out across the city in recent days.
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Washington's Democratic mayor, Muriel Bowser, pushed back on Trump's claims, saying the city is 'not experiencing a crime spike' and noting that violent crime hit its lowest level in more than three decades last year.
Violent crime fell 26% in the first seven months of 2025 after dropping 35% in 2024, and overall crime declined 7%, according to the city's police department. However, gun violence remains a concern. In 2023, Washington had the third-highest gun homicide rate among US cities with populations over 500,000, according to advocacy group Everytown for Gun Safety.
The deployment of National Guard troops mirrors a tactic Trump used in Los Angeles, where he sent 5,000 troops in June in response to protests over his administration's immigration raids. State and local officials objected to that move as unnecessary and inflammatory.
A federal trial began Monday in San Francisco to determine whether the Trump administration violated US law by deploying National Guard troops and US Marines without the approval of Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom.
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The president has broad authority over the 2,700 members of the DC National Guard, unlike in states where governors typically hold that power. Guard troops have been dispatched to Washington many times, including after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol by a mob of Trump supporters.
During his first term, Trump also sent the National Guard into Washington in 2020 to quell mostly peaceful demonstrations during nationwide protests over police brutality following the murder of George Floyd. Civil rights leaders denounced the deployment, which Bowser opposed.
The US military is generally prohibited under law from directly participating in domestic law enforcement activities.
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