Trump orders National Guard into Washington and takes over DC police
President Donald Trump said the federal government will take control of the Washington, DC Metropolitan Police Department.
- Trump declared a public safety emergency in Washington, DC, and said the federal government will take over the local police department.
- The president said he will deploy National Guard troops to fight crime in the capital.
- Violent crime has fallen 26% in Washington, DC, from the same period last year, according the Metropolitan Police Department.
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump said he will deploy National Guard troops to Washington, DC, as part of an aggressive federal effort to crack down on crime in the nation’s capital.
Trump said the federal government would also seize control of Washington's Metropolitan Police Department.
"We're taking our capital back," Trump said August 11. "We're taking it back."
"I'm announcing a historic action to rescue our nation's capital from crime, bloodshed, bedlam and squalor and worse," Trump said. "This is Liberation Day in DC, and we're going to take our capital back."
Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser called the moves "unsettling and unprecedented."
Trump's actions follow a high-profile assault on a former staffer of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), 19-year-old Edward Coristine, that occured in the early morning hours of Aug. 3. during an attempted carjacking.
DC mayor: Trump’s police takeover “unsettling and unprecedented”
President Donald Trump’s move to assert control over Washington D.C.’s police force is "unsettling and unprecedented" the city’s mayor said, while also indicating she will cooperate with federal authorities.
Mayor Muriel Bowser disputed Trump’s justification for declaring a crime emergency in D.C, calling it a subjective “so-called emergency” and noting that the crime has been trending down in the city after spiking in 2023.
“We’re not experiencing a spike in crime but a decrease in crime,” Bowser said during an Aug. 11 press conference following Trump’s announcement earlier in the day.
Yet she acknowledged Trump’s authority under the Home Rule Act, which gives the federal government certain powers over D.C. governance. Trump cited the law in an executive order declaring he was using emergency powers to seize control of the city’s Metropolitan Police Department.
“The Home Rule charter requires the mayor to provide the services of MPD during special conditions of an emergency, and we will follow the law,” Bowser.
-Zac Anderson
DOJ earlier said DC violent crime was at a 30-year low
Despite claims of rising crime and violence in Washington by President Trump and his attorney general and FBI chief, the Justice Department itself announced in January that total violent crime for 2024 was down 35% from the year before.
In fact, crime in the capital “is the lowest it has been in over 30 years,” according to data collected by the Metropolitan Police Department included in a Jan. 3 statement by the Washington, D.C., U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Then-U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves, an appointee of former President Joe Biden, credited the declines to a "focus on the drivers of violence − those gangs or crews of people who are dealing drugs, protecting turf, committing carjackings and other robberies, all while armed.”
During an August 11 press conference, DC was described as one of the most unsafe and violent cities in the world by Trump, Attorney General Pam Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel and Graves’ recently confirmed replacement, former television personality Jeanine Pirro.
But the Justice Department in January said that in addition to the overall violent crime reduction, homicides were down 32%; robberies were down 39%; armed carjackings were down 53% and assaults with a dangerous weapon were down 27% when compared with 2023 levels. DOJ also said the District was reporting “the fewest assaults with dangerous weapons and burglaries in over 30 years.”
In 2024, Washington, DC,had the fourth-highest homicide rate among U.S. cities, after St. Louis, New Orleans and Detroit.
−Josh Meyer
Trump says on police response to protesters: ‘You spit and we hit’
President Trump issued a stern warning to protesters in Washington, DC, and beyond during his Aug. 11 press briefing where he announced plans to federalize the city's police force and deploy National Guard troops: “You spit and we hit.”
In making the remark, Trump said that he was aware of a recent incident in Navy Yard, a neighborhood located in southeast DC. Police arrested a minor on Aug. 9 who discharged a firearm at a group of teens, according to ABC 7 News.
Navy Yard has seen other incidents of violence in the past, including fights breaking out among teens and a 25-year-old arrested and charged with assault on a police officer.
“They're not going to be fighting back long,” Trump said,
Apparently recalling previous street protests where officers showed restraint against demonstrators, Trump called on officers to use force.
“They love to spit in the face of the police as the police are standing up there in uniform, they're standing and they're screaming at them an inch away from their face, and then they start spitting in their face. And I said you tell them, ‘You spit and we hit,'" Trump said. “And they can hit real hard. It's a disgusting thing."
−Sudiksha Kochi
‘Political theater,’ says top Democrat
Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., sharply criticized President Trump’s takeover of the Washington D.C. police department as “political theater,” and said the nation’s capital doesn’t need it because it’s already reducing violent crime.
"What the president did this morning was political theater,” said Durbin, the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
“His idea of federalizing the police force of D.C. ignores the reality,” Durbin said at a news conference to discuss the Texas state House Democrats who are boycotting a Trump-backed push to redraw congressional districts.
“They are making dramatic progress in reducing violent crime in D.C., so it's a typical move by this president to create chaos and uncertainty, and to draw the attention from other issues like Jeffrey Epstein," added Durbin, a longtime Democratic leader who that he will retire and not seek reelection in 2026.
−Josh Meyer
Trump says he's looking at downgrading marijuana
President Donald Trump said his administration is considering reclassifying marijuana as a less dangerous drug.
"We're looking at reclassification and we'll make a determination over the next few weeks," Trump said during his Aug. 11 press conference.
Though 45 states have legalized the use of marijuana for medicinal or recreational use, the federal government still classifies it as a Schedule I drug.
-Sarah Wire
Trump longs for completed White House ballroom
President Trump brought up his plans to build a 90,000-square-foot ballroom in the White House to the overflowing room of journalists packed into his Aug. 11 media briefing.
“I would've certainly loved to have had it today," the president said of the construction project that isn't slated to be completed until 2029. "We would've filled it up."
−Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy
Hegseth to 'work with state governors' to use more National Guard troops
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is authorized to "work with state governors" to use their states' National Guard troops "if necessary" to deploy Washington, D.C., according to Will Scharf, an aide to President Donald Trump.
Hegseth got the green light in the presidential memo that Trump signed directing National Guard troops into Washington, Scharf said. For National Guard troops from states other than the District of Columbia to carry out law enforcement actions, they must be deployed with the consent of their states' governor. - Cybele Mayes-Osterman
Trump signs executive orders driving DC crackdown
Trump signed two executive orders earlier in the day as part of his federal crackdown on Washington crime, White House Staff Secretary Will Scharf said.
One order invoked Section 40 of the Home Rule Act to allow the Trump administration to take control of the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department
Separately, Trump signed a presidential memorandum directing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to deploy National Guard troops in Washington. He said the memorandum also authorized Hegseth to work with governors of other states to utilize their National Guards as well.
−Joey Garrison
Trump: 800 D.C. National Guard troops will be mobilized
President Donald Trump said 800 troops from the Washington, D.C., National Guard will be mobilized. He said more could be tapped to join them.
"If necessary we're going to move servicemembers directly to joining the guardsmen," he said.
−Cybele Mayes-Osterman
Troops will be 'flowing into the streets of Washington'
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the Washington, D.C., National Guard was mobilized the morning of August 11 at President Trump's direction.
"You will see them flowing into the streets of Washington in the coming weeks," Hegseth said. Hegseth said other National Guard units and "specialized units" stood ready.
"They will be strong. They will be tough," he said.
"We will work alongside all D.C. police and federal law enforcement to ensure this city is safe, this city is beautiful."
−Cybele Mayes-Osterman
'It’s embarrassing,' Trump says of DC crime before Putin summit
As he announced the federal takeover of Washington, D.C., police, Trump said he didn’t want to be talking the subject days before his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“This is a tragic emergency. And it's embarrassing for me to be up here,” he said. “I'm gonna see Putin. I'm going to Russia on Friday. I don't like being up here talking about how unsafe and how dirty and disgusting this once beautiful capitol was with graffiti all over the walls.”
The leaders are scheduled to meet on Aug. 15 in Alaska to discuss an end to the three-year Russian war on Ukraine, in the first in-person meeting since Trump took office for his second term.
−Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy
Trump puts new DEA chief in charge of DC police
Trump announced that Drug Enforcement Administrator Terrance Cole will take over Washington’s Metropolitan Police Department.
“You’ll be designated as the interim federal commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Department, okay?” Trump told Cole, standing on the stage with him. “And you run them tough, they're good. You have a lot of good people.”
Cole was sworn in as DEA administrator on July 23, following his Senate confirmation.
-Josh Meyer
Trump declares public safety emergency, says Bondi will take command of DC police
Trump said he is declaring a public safety emergency in Washington D.C. and announced Attorney General Pam Bondi will take command of the local Metropolitan Police Department.
Trump said his new DEA administrator Terry Cole will serve as interim federal commissioner of the police department.
Trump said he will notify Congress and Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser about the moves.
“This is an emergency. This is a tragic emergency,” Trump said.
-Joey Garrison
Trump suggests crime crackdown could extend to other US cities
Trump seemed to suggest he could later pursue federal intervention to combat crime in places like Chicago and Los Angeles.
“We’re not going to lose our cities over this,” Trump said as he railed against what he called rising crime rates. “And this will go further. We’re starting very strongly with D.C., and we’re going to clean it up real quick, very quickly.”
Trump was flanked by Attorney General Pam Bondi and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth as he gave his remarks.
−Joey Garrison
Trump says he’s deploying National Guard, taking control of police department
Trump said he is sending National Guard troops to Washington D.C. and placing Washington’s Metropolitan Police Department under direct federal control to crack down on crime in the nation’s capital.
Trump cited authority under Section 740 of the Home Rule Act to take control of Washington’s police department.
“This is liberation day in D.C.," Trump said, touting his moves as “historic action to rescue our nation from crime, bloodshed, bedlam and squalor and worse.”
−Joey Garrison
Sen. Mike Lee: Time to take over DC
Ahead of Trump’s press conference, Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, said now is the time for Congress to take control of the city.
“We should pass the BOWSER Act in September and return full control of Washington to Congress,” Lee said in an Aug. 11 post on X.
The legislation, dubbed “Bringing Oversight to Washington and Safety to Every Resident” was introduced earlier this year, and was named after D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser as a criticism of crime and alleged corruption.
Lee cited an ongoing scandal, for example, involving a D.C. police commander who in July was suspended for allegedly changing crime stats in his district. He also noted how in some news reports local residents said they were afraid to speak out about crime for fear of reprisal.
−Phillip M. Bailey, Deborah Berry
White House says DC’s murder rate leads other national capitals
Ahead of Trump’s press conference, White House officials handed a chart to reporters in the press briefing room detailing how Washington D.C.’s homicide rate is greater than those of several foreign capitals.
With about 27 murders per every 100,000 residents, Washington, D.C., has a higher homicide rate than Bogota, Colombia; Mexico City; Islamabad, Pakistan; Lima, Peru; and Ottawa, Canada, among others, according to the chart.
Even so, violent crime in Washington D.C. is down 26% in 2025 compared to this time last year. In 2024, Washington, D.C., had the fourth-highest homicide rate among U.S. cities, after St. Louis, New Orleans and Detroit, at 27.3 per 100,000 residents, a decline of 30.7% from 2023.
-Joey Garrison
Trump's expected troop deployment recalls 2020 protest crackdown
President Trump's expected announcement that he will send the military onto the streets of the nation's capital recalls his deployment of National Guard troops during his first term to suppress protests sparked by the police murder of George Floyd.
Trump has threatened a massive crackdown on crime in Washington.
National Guard troops mobilized by the president in a "federalized" capacity are typically barred from carrying out the functions of law enforcement, but not if they're under state control. In the summer of 2020, Trump brought troops into Washington from other states under the permission of 11 governors − an unprecedented mobilization of state troops.
Trump's authority to direct National Guard troops was challenged earlier this year after he tapped the California National Guard to quell protests over widespread deportations in the Los Angeles area. After Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom challenged Trump's control over the troops, a judge ruled in favor of Trump.
−Cybele Mayes-Osterman
Democrats ask: What about Jan. 6?
Ahead of Trump's press conference, Democrats criticized Trump for failing to call in the National Guard during the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol, while preparing to call in the military now to suppress street crime.
More than 1,575 people were charged in connection with the Jan. 6 insurrection. At least 600 were charged with the felony of assaulting or impeding law enforcement, according to the Police Executive Research Forum.
“Remember January 6, 2021: Why did Trump fail to call out to DC National Guard? Don’t believe Trump’s lies,” Donna Brazile, former acting chair of the Democratic National Committee, wrote on X.
Washington's crime rate is down this year compared to 2024. Violent crimes are 26% lower than last year. Homicides are down 12%, according to statistics compiled by the Metropolitian Police Department.
-Sudiksha Kochi, Josh Meyer and Zac Anderson
No DC crime surge, mayor says
A spokesman for Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser declined to comment ahead of Trump’s news conference.
But during an Aug. 10 appearance on MSNBC’s “The Weekend,” Bowser pushed back at Trump’s claims of rising crime in Washington. “We are not experiencing a crime spike,” the mayor said.
Bowser expressed concern about sending the National Guard into the capital, noting that Guard troops are not meant to enforce local laws.
“I’m concerned about them not being used efficiently. And I just think that’s not the most efficient use of our guard,” Bowser said. “But that’s the president’s call about how to deploy the guard.”
Bowser, who is in her third mayoral term, has refrained from responding with hostility to Trump’s threats about taking over Washington.
−Joey Garrison
450 federal officers deployed on DC streets
Trump's announcement comes as 450 officers from multiple federal agencies were deployed in high-traffic D.C. areas and other hotspots over the weekend on Aug. 9 and 10.
The officers are from 18 agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Secret Service.
Trump ordered an increased law enforcement presence in D.C. on Aug. 8 after complaining about crime in the city, even as violent crime trended down.
Violent crime is down 26% in DC in 2025
The White House pointed to several examples of violent crime in Washington this year including the May 21 fatal shooting of two Israeli embassy staffers outside a downtown museum (The suspect is from Chicago.) as well as the recent assault on Coristine.
Yet Washington's crime rate is down this year compared to 2024. Violent crimes are 26% lower than last year. Homicides are down 12%, according to statistics compiled by the Metropolitian Police Department. Violent crime declined by 35% in Washington from 2023 ro 2024, including homicides from 274 to 187.
-Joey Garrison
Trump threatens to take over DC
Trump has long denigrated Washington, D.C, which leans heavily Democratic. Last week, Trump threatened to take over governance of the district if the crime situation isn't improved ‒ something he floated previously in February.
"If D.C. doesn’t get its act together, and quickly, we will have no choice but to take Federal control of the City, and run this City how it should be run, and put criminals on notice that they’re not going to get away with it anymore," Trump said in an Aug. 5 post on Truth Social.
Such action would require approval by Congress.
The District of Columbia is a federal enclave under jurisdiction of the U.S. government. The District of Columbia Home Rule Act of 1973 gave the city local governance, including an elected mayor and city council. Two congressional Republicans, Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., and Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, this month introduced legislation to repeal the Home Rule Act.
-Joey Garrison
Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.