Thursday, 14 August, 2025
President Donald Trump announced Monday that he is deploying 800 National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., and placing the city’s police department under federal control — an extraordinary assertion of presidential authority in the U.S. capital.
The move bypasses the city’s elected leadership and underscores Trump’s willingness to wield executive power in ways rarely seen in modern American politics, defying long-standing political norms.
Trump justified the intervention as necessary to “rescue” Washington from what he described as rampant lawlessness, despite official data showing violent crime hit a 30-year low in 2024 and has continued to decline in 2025.
“Our capital city has been overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “I’m deploying the National Guard to help reestablish law, order, and public safety.”
It is the second time this summer that Trump has deployed federal troops to a Democrat-led city. In June, he sent thousands of National Guard personnel to Los Angeles over the objections of state and local officials. He also signaled Chicago could be next, despite crime there falling sharply this year.
Washington operates under a 1973 law granting limited self-governance, but ultimate authority rests with Congress. Trump said he is exploring ways to revoke the law entirely, potentially stripping the city of local autonomy.
Attorney General Pam Bondi will oversee the police force during the federal takeover. Hundreds of federal agents from the FBI, ICE, DEA, and ATF have already been deployed across the city in recent days.
Local Leaders Push Back
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser rejected Trump’s portrayal of the city, noting that violent crime fell 35% in 2024 and another 26% so far this year.
“Washington is not experiencing a crime spike,” Bowser said.
City Attorney General Brian Schwalb called the move “unprecedented, unnecessary, and unlawful,” while House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Trump had “zero credibility on the issue of law and order” and urged him to “get lost.”
Under the Home Rule Act, the president may assume control of the Metropolitan Police for up to 30 days during “special conditions of an emergency nature.” Legal experts stressed the provision was intended for short-term emergencies, not long-term takeovers.
Federal Funding Cuts
Trump’s intervention comes as his administration cuts security funding for the National Capital Region by 44% this year — a $20 million reduction from the federal urban security fund.
Pattern of Federal Force Deployment
Trump has long used crime — often with racial undertones — as a political rallying point. During his first term, he deployed the National Guard to Washington in 2020 to suppress largely peaceful protests after the killing of George Floyd. Critics likened Monday’s move to that earlier intervention.
In California, a federal trial opened Monday over whether Trump violated the law by sending 5,000 National Guard troops and U.S. Marines to Los Angeles in response to protests over immigration raids, without the governor’s consent.
California Governor Gavin Newsom accused Trump of “cosplaying as dictator” and warned Washington residents to expect “soldiers sitting around with nothing to do” and “lies from all levels of the federal government.”
As of 2020, Washington’s population was about 40% Black. Chicago’s population is roughly 29% Black and 30% Hispanic or Latino, while Los Angeles is nearly half Hispanic or Latino.
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President Donald Trump announced Monday that he is deploying 800 National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., and placing the city’s police department under federal control — an extraordinary assertion of presidential authority in the U.S. capital.
The move bypasses the city’s elected leadership and underscores Trump’s willingness to wield executive power in ways rarely seen in modern American politics, defying long-standing political norms.
Trump justified the intervention as necessary to “rescue” Washington from what he described as rampant lawlessness, despite official data showing violent crime hit a 30-year low in 2024 and has continued to decline in 2025.
“Our capital city has been overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “I’m deploying the National Guard to help reestablish law, order, and public safety.”
It is the second time this summer that Trump has deployed federal troops to a Democrat-led city. In June, he sent thousands of National Guard personnel to Los Angeles over the objections of state and local officials. He also signaled Chicago could be next, despite crime there falling sharply this year.
Washington operates under a 1973 law granting limited self-governance, but ultimate authority rests with Congress. Trump said he is exploring ways to revoke the law entirely, potentially stripping the city of local autonomy.
Attorney General Pam Bondi will oversee the police force during the federal takeover. Hundreds of federal agents from the FBI, ICE, DEA, and ATF have already been deployed across the city in recent days.
Local Leaders Push Back
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser rejected Trump’s portrayal of the city, noting that violent crime fell 35% in 2024 and another 26% so far this year.
“Washington is not experiencing a crime spike,” Bowser said.
City Attorney General Brian Schwalb called the move “unprecedented, unnecessary, and unlawful,” while House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Trump had “zero credibility on the issue of law and order” and urged him to “get lost.”
Under the Home Rule Act, the president may assume control of the Metropolitan Police for up to 30 days during “special conditions of an emergency nature.” Legal experts stressed the provision was intended for short-term emergencies, not long-term takeovers.
Federal Funding Cuts
Trump’s intervention comes as his administration cuts security funding for the National Capital Region by 44% this year — a $20 million reduction from the federal urban security fund.
Pattern of Federal Force Deployment
Trump has long used crime — often with racial undertones — as a political rallying point. During his first term, he deployed the National Guard to Washington in 2020 to suppress largely peaceful protests after the killing of George Floyd. Critics likened Monday’s move to that earlier intervention.
In California, a federal trial opened Monday over whether Trump violated the law by sending 5,000 National Guard troops and U.S. Marines to Los Angeles in response to protests over immigration raids, without the governor’s consent.
California Governor Gavin Newsom accused Trump of “cosplaying as dictator” and warned Washington residents to expect “soldiers sitting around with nothing to do” and “lies from all levels of the federal government.”
As of 2020, Washington’s population was about 40% Black. Chicago’s population is roughly 29% Black and 30% Hispanic or Latino, while Los Angeles is nearly half Hispanic or Latino.
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