Trump Seizes DC Policing Powers, Sends in National Guard

By Staff, Agencies

US President Donald Trump has ordered the national guard to Washington DC and seized control of the city’s police force, describing a “lawless” city in ways that are sharply at odds with official crime statistics.

The US president’s move was swiftly condemned as a “disgusting, dangerous and derogatory” assault on the political independence of a racially diverse city. The federal takeover is expected to be in effect for 30 days, the White House confirmed to the Guardian.

Speaking at a White House press conference on Monday, Trump said he was taking “a historic action to rescue our nation’s capital from crime, bloodshed, bedlam, and squalor and worse. This is liberation day in DC and we’re going to take our capital back.”

He described Washington DC as “one of the most dangerous cities anywhere in the world”, claiming its murder rate is higher than Bogotá or Mexico City, even though violent crime is at a 30-year low.

War Secretary, Pete Hegseth, who was among officials joining Trump on the podium, said 800 national guard troops would take to the streets of Washington over the coming week. “They will be strong, they will be tough and they will stand with their law enforcement partners,” he said.

Trump added that he may send in the military “if needed”.

By invoking section 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, the president is federalizing DC’s Metropolitan police department for the first time in its history. He said he was declaring a public safety emergency and putting the police under the control of the attorney general, Pam Bondi.

Trump vowed to allow police to “do whatever the hell they want” in the face of provocations. “That’s the only language they [alleged criminals] understand.”

DC is far safer than in 1991, when it saw 482 murders and was dubbed the US murder capital. Last year, homicides dropped to 187, with an even lower rate expected this year.

Nonetheless, Trump ordered a range of federal law enforcement agencies to deploy on to DC streets over the weekend in a surge.

Again, taking to social media on Sunday, Trump demanded that homeless residents of the capital leave, posting images of encampments ostensibly taken from his motorcade.

“The Homeless have to move out, IMMEDIATELY,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “We will give you places to stay, but FAR from the Capital.”

Homelessness rates in the nation’s capital have also been falling, with the most recent point-in-time count showing a decrease from 2024.

Eleanor Holmes Norton called the move a “historic assault” on DC home rule and a push for her DC statehood bill.

DNC Chair Ken Martin accused Trump of "playing political games" with troops and law enforcement, saying he "doesn’t give a damn" about DC residents’ safety.

“When rioters violently stormed the Capitol and there were repeated requests for the national guard, Trump failed to act. To add insult to injury, he released from jail those 1,500 violent insurrectionists who assaulted police officers and broke local and federal law.”