Trump says he will take control of DC police, deploy National Guard to capital

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump said on Monday (Aug 11) 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 said was a wave of lawlessness, despite statistics showing that violent crime hit a 30-year low in 2024.

Trump’s move, which bypassed the city's elected leaders, marked an extraordinary assertion of presidential power in the US capital. It is the second time this summer that the Republican president has deployed troops to a Democratically governed city, after sending thousands of National Guard troops to Los Angeles in June over the objections of state and local officials.

"I'm deploying the National Guard to help re-establish law, order and public safety in Washington, DC," 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."

"The Metropolitan Police Department and the federal authorities will be supported in the effort, a really big effort, the 800 DC National Guardsmen that we'll put on. And much more, if necessary, much more," Trump said.

Hegseth added that the National Guard units are expected to arrive in the capital within the coming week.

Attorney General Bondi will oversee the police force takeover, Trump said. Hundreds of officers and agents from over a dozen federal agencies, including the FBI, ICE, DEA, and ATF, have already fanned out across the city in recent days.

Trump's announcement is 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.

At the same news conference, Trump signalled that Chicago could be next, calling it “a disaster” and adding, “Hopefully L.A. is watching.”

Hundreds of officers and agents from over a dozen federal agencies, including the FBI, ICE, DEA, and ATF, have already fanned out across the city in recent days.

The Democratic major of Washington, Muriel Bowser, has pushed back on Trump's claims, saying the city is "not experiencing a crime spike" and highlighting that violent crime hit its lowest level in more than three decades last year.

Violent crime fell 26 per cent in the first seven months of 2025 after dropping 35 per cent in 2024, and overall crime dropped 7 per cent, according to the city's police department.

The city’s attorney general, Brian Schwalb, called Trump’s actions “unprecedented, unnecessary and unlawful” in a post on X, adding that his office was “considering all of our options”. House of Representatives Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries also criticised the move, writing on X: “Donald Trump has no basis to take over the local police department. And zero credibility on the issue of law and order. Get lost.”

But gun violence remains an issue. In 2023, Washington had the third-highest gun homicide rate among US cities with populations over 500,000, according to gun control advocacy group Everytown for Gun Safety.

The deployment of National Guard troops is a tactic the Republican president used in Los Angeles, where he dispatched 5,000 troops in June in response to protests over his administration's immigration raids. State and local officials objected to Trump's decision as unnecessary and inflammatory.

A federal trial was set to begin on Monday in San Francisco on whether the Trump administration violated US law by deploying 5,000 National Guard troops and US Marines without the approval of Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom. In a post on X, Newsom wrote: “Washington, DC – here’s what you can expect now that the president wants to cosplay as dictator in your city, too: Soldiers sitting around with nothing to do; Lies from all levels of the federal government; No meaningful impact.”

The president has broad authority over the 2,700 members of the DC National Guard, unlike in states where governors typically hold the power to activate troops. Guard troops have been dispatched to Washington many times, including in response to the Jan 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol by a mob of Trump supporters.

During his first term, Trump sent the National Guard into Washington in 2020 to help quash mostly peaceful demonstrations during nationwide protests over police brutality following the murder of George Floyd. Civil rights leaders denounced the deployment, which was opposed by Bowser.

In taking over the Metropolitan Police Department, Trump invoked a section of the city’s Home Rule Act that allows the president to use the force for 30 days when “special conditions of an emergency nature” exist. University of Minnesota law professor Jill Hasday said the provision is designed as a temporary emergency measure, “not a permanent takeover.”

The US military is generally prohibited under law from directly participating in domestic law enforcement activities.