Trump says he will seek extension of federal takeover of D.C. police
Trump also asserted that any congressional action could serve as a model for other U.S. cities. He has previously threatened to expand his efforts to other Democratic-run cities such as Chicago that he claims have failed to address crime.
It was not clear how Trump's takeover of Washington's Metropolitan Police Department could be replicated elsewhere. In seizing control on Monday, Trump took advantage of a federal law, the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, that permits the president to do so under emergency circumstances for up to 30 days.
Trump also announced on Monday that he was deploying 800 National Guard troops to the city, a tactic he employed in Los Angeles in June when he mobilized thousands of Guard soldiers and hundreds of U.S. Marines in response to protests over his administration's immigration raids.
Trump's extraordinary moves in Washington are reflective of how he has approached his second term in office, shattering political norms and legal concerns to test the limits of his office's power.
The Republican president has claimed that the capital is gripped by a wave of violent crime and pervasive homelessness, despite both federal and city crime statistics showing that violent crime has declined precipitously since a spike in 2023.
The offices of House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, both Republicans, were not immediately available to comment on Trump's request for congressional action. Democratic legislative leaders also did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Trump told reporters on Wednesday that if Congress fails to act, he can declare a "national emergency" to extend the 30-day limit. It was not immediately clear what legal power Trump was referring to.
"There's nothing about the president extending past 30 days unilaterally," Claire Finkelstein, a University of Pennsylvania law professor, said of the Home Rule Act. "If the 30 days are up, that's that."
The president has used emergency declarations to justify numerous unprecedented executive actions, including historically high tariffs on foreign imports and his wide-ranging immigration crackdown. Many have drawn lawsuits challenging his authority.
In both Washington and Los Angeles, Trump bypassed or ignored objections from elected local leaders. A federal trial on whether Trump violated the law in Los Angeles by calling up the National Guard over the objections of Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom is underway in San Francisco.
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