Trump expected to formally announce plan to take over Washington, D.C.
Aug. 10 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump announced Sunday that he would hold a press conference at the White House on Monday to present his plan to "stop violent crime" in the nation's capital after the attempted carjacking on former DOGE staffer Edward Coristine, known by the pseudonym Big Balls.
Trump made the announcement on his Truth Social platform after threatening a federal takeover of Washington, D.C., last week. The capital city is in the federal District of Columbia, which lies outside any state boundaries, and its authority rests with Congress.
"It has become one of the most dangerous cities anywhere in the world. It will soon be one of the safest!" Trump said in his post. "Thank you for your attention to this matter."
Under federal law, Washington, D.C., has an elected mayor and a 13-member council that manages municipal functions, like policing. But Congress has the power to override any local laws passed, control its budget and abolish home rule if deemed necessary.
While large swaths of the city, like federal buildings and the National Mall, are already within federal jurisdiction under the executive branch, only Congress has the ultimate authority over the district.
The primary mechanism that might allow Trump to take federal control of the city through the executive branch would be by federalizing the Metro Police under the oversight of Attorney General Pam Bondi or another federal official, which is allowed under the city's municipal code.
Trump could also use various federal statutes regarding how federal agencies govern their specific properties to expand their operational zones and security perimeters, or he may try to use the Insurrection Act to allow him to deploy federal troops or the National Guard.
"It is true that we had a terrible spike in crime in 2023, but this is not 2023," Mayor Muriel Bowser said in an interview with MSNBC on Sunday. "This is 2025, and we've done that by working with the community, working with the police, working with our prosecutors, and in fact, working with the federal government."
In fact, in January, the U.S. Justice Department released a report that showed that violent crime reached a 30-year low in 2024. Data collected by the Metropolitan Police Department showed crime was down 35% from 2023.
Specifically, homicides were down 32% and robberies were down 39%. The data showed that armed carjackings were down 53% and assaults with a dangerous weapon were down 27% when compared with 2023 levels.
Data released this month by Metro Police shows that violent crime rates have continued to fall in 2025, with violent crime down 26% year-over-year. Homicide rates have dropped 12%, sex abuse by 49%, assault with a dangerous weapon by 20% and robbery by 28%.
On top of his concerns for alleged high crime rates in the city, he said that the press conference would focus on new efforts to address the "cleanliness" and "general physical renovation" of the capital.
Trump also hinted at a possible budgetary takeover, lambasting high-cost renovation projects causing "never-ending construction," but it was not clear what mechanisms might allow him to do so.
"The mayor of D.C., Muriel Bowser, is a good person who has tried, but she has been given many chances, and the crime numbers get worse, and the city only gets dirtier and less attractive," Trump said. "The American public is not going to put up with it any longer."
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