President Donald Trump mentioned Monday he is inserting Washington, DC’s, police division “under direct federal control” and deploying National Guard troops to the nation’s capital, citing a public security emergency after an assault on a former authorities employee.
The transfer attracts on the sweeping, however non permanent powers granted under the Home Rule Act of 1973, a regulation that balances native self-governance with federal oversight in the capital. While the president can assume control of the police division for up to two days, extending this authority would require congressional discover or a change to the regulation.
Trump’s announcement comes after the assault of a 19-year-old former Department of Government Efficiency employee throughout an attempted carjacking on August 3. While Trump has repeatedly criticized what he describes as a surge in violent crime in Washington, total crime numbers this yr are decrease than final yr.
“Washington, D.C. will be LIBERATED today!” Trump mentioned Monday on his Truth Social.
The declaration additionally got here as administration attorneys have been in a courtroom Monday for the first day of a trial over the legality of Trump’s deployment of the National Guard in California in June amid protests over immigration raids in Los Angeles.
Here’s what to find out about Trump’s authority in Washington, DC, and the implications of this unprecedented transfer:
Washington, DC, operates under the Home Rule Act of 1973, which grants Congress oversight and authority over the capital whereas permitting district residents restricted self-governance.
The act grants emergency powers to the federal authorities, permitting the president to take control of the metropolis’s police for up to 48 hours if he determines “special conditions of an emergency nature exist,” requiring the division’s use for federal functions.
This marks the first time in the act’s historical past {that a} president has assumed control of the metropolis’s police drive.
Extending the takeover for an extended interval requires Trump to formally notify the chairs and rating members of congressional committees dealing with DC affairs.
Any control lasting greater than 30 days would want congressional approval and have to be handed into regulation, a extremely inconceivable situation given the present gridlock in a intently divided Congress.
Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser and leaders of the Washington Metropolitan Police Department didn’t find out about Trump’s intentions forward of his announcement, three sources instructed NCS.
Bowser known as the transfer “unsettling and unprecedented” throughout a information convention Monday, saying she believes Trump’s view of DC was “shaped by his Covid-era experience during his first term” when crime spiked.
DC Police Union chairman Greggory Pemberton mentioned the group helps the transfer and agrees “something needs to be done.”
National Guard and FBI brokers already working with police
Trump additionally activated 800 troopers from the DC National Guard, with up to 200 assigned to help regulation enforcement, in accordance to the Defense Department.
“Duties for those personnel include administrative and logistical roles, as well as providing a physical presence in support of law enforcement,” the Defense Department mentioned.
Beyond the police division, Trump has broad jurisdiction over the metropolis’s affairs. Numerous federal regulation enforcement companies, together with the FBI, are headquartered in the metropolis and report immediately to the administration.
Over the weekend, Trump moved officers from a number of federal companies, together with up to 130 FBI brokers to patrol with DC police in a number of neighborhoods.
Despite Trump’s claims Monday that crime is “out of control,” knowledge exhibits violent crime in Washington, DC, has been declining since its 2023 spike, with two years of sustained enchancment.
There have been 274 reported homicides in 2023, the metropolis’s highest quantity since 1997. But there was a 32% drop in 2024 to 187 and one other 12% fall to this point this yr, with 99 reported as of Sunday.
Carjackings noticed an identical development. After surging to 959 in 2023, the quantity of reported carjackings dropped to round 500 in 2024, and has fallen additional in 2025, with simply 188 incidents as of Saturday. July marked the lowest month-to-month carjacking whole since May 2020.
Similarly, cities like Philadelphia, Chicago, St. Louis, Baltimore and Detroit – traditionally recognized for prime murder charges – have seen substantial declines in violent crime in 2024, 2025 or each.