In an unprecedented move, US President Donald Trump has announced that the federal government will assume control of the Washington, DC Metropolitan Police Department, citing what he described as spiralling crime in the nation’s capital. Speaking at a White House news conference on Monday, Trump declared, “I’m officially invoking section 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, you know what that is, and placing the DC Metropolitan Police Department under direct federal control.”
“It’s embarrassing for me to be up here. You know I’m going to see Putin,” Trump remarked at the White House, adding that, “I don’t like being up here talking about how unsafe and how dirty and disgusting this once beautiful capital was.”
The Home Rule Act of 1973 permits the president to take control of the city’s police for 48 hours in cases of “special conditions of an emergency nature” requiring the department’s use for federal purposes. This authority can be extended if Congress is formally notified, CNN reported.
Before this, no president had ever taken over DC police under the Act. Trump said he intends to extend federal control beyond the initial 48 hours, adding, “I’ll be making the appropriate notifications to Congress and to the mayor.”
Trump Deploys National Guard In Washington DC
Alongside the takeover, Trump announced the deployment of the National Guard to the capital. “I’m deploying the National Guard to help re-establish law, order and public safety in Washington, DC, and they’re going to be allowed to do their job properly,” he stated.
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed that Army Secretary Dan Driscoll would lead the operationalisation of the Guard. “You will see them flowing into the streets of Washington in the coming week,” Hegseth said, adding that additional specialised units could be deployed if required, as per CNN.
Trump also noted that “if necessary, we’re going to move service members directly to joining the guardsmen.” He appointed Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Administrator Terry Cole as interim federal commissioner of the DC Metropolitan Police Department, describing him as “one of the top in the country” and instructing him to run the department “tough.”
Trump Stresses Crackdown on Crime, Homelessness
Trump said his decision was motivated by recent high-profile incidents in the city, including the killing of a 21-year-old Congressional intern and the beating of a DOGE staffer in an attempted carjacking. “This is liberation day in D.C. and we’re going to take our Capitol back,” he told reporters, as quoted by news agency AP.
He vowed to restore safety quickly: “We’re going to clean it up real quick, very quickly.” The president further promised aggressive action to tackle homelessness and blight, stating, “We have slums here. We’re getting rid of them. I know it’s not politically correct.”
Trump linked what he called a “dire public safety crisis” to policies such as the elimination of cash bail, claiming, “Every place in the country where you have no cash bail is a disaster. That’s what started the problem.” DC largely removed cash bail in 1992. He pledged to work with Congress to “change the statute” in cities like New York, Chicago and Washington, DC.
Despite data from the DC Metropolitan Police Department showing that overall crime has declined compared to last year, Trump argued urgent intervention was needed, adding that the measures would extend beyond the capital to other American cities. “We’re not going to lose our cities over this, and this will go further,” he said, as quoted by CNN.
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