President Donald Trump announced Monday he’s federalizing the Metropolitan Police Department and deploying the National Guard to fight crime, declaring a public safety emergency and marking the first time a president has invoked section 740 of D.C.’s Home Rule Act.
Trump tapped Attorney General Pam Bondi to oversee the federal takeover of the MPD and “rescue” the city from violent crime, invoking a provision of the Home Rule Act that allows the president to assume control of the police under “conditions of an emergency nature.” He also announced plans to deploy 800 D.C. National Guard troops to assist police, calling the city one of the “worst places on earth” and among the most dangerous worldwide — despite violent crime dropping 35 percent in 2024.
“Our capital city has been overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals, roving mobs of wild youth, drugged out maniacs and homeless people,” Trump said at Monday’s press conference.
He said police will also “act swiftly” to remove homeless encampments across the city, expanding on a city-led increase in clearings that began earlier this year at his request.
Trump did not say how long the department will be under federal control, but the executive order he signed Monday states they will apply the Home Rule Act’s provision for the “maximum period,” which could last up to 30 days. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser called the decision “unsettling and unprecedented,” but said city officials will cooperate with federal law enforcement.
The White House did not immediately return a request for comment on how National Guard troops will coordinate with the MPD or which areas of the city will see an increased law enforcement presence.
University spokesperson Skyler Sales said the University is “monitoring” the Trump administrations actions to place MPD under federal control and deploy the National Guard. Sales said GW does not currently anticipate the takeover having an impact on operations.
“GW continues to be in contact with local and federal authorities and will provide any relevant information to the campus community,” Sales said in an email. “As always, the university will comply with all local, state and federal laws.”
The takeover follows Trump’s recent threats to take action on crime prevention in D.C. following the carjacking and assault of a 19-year-old DOGE staffer near Logan Circle last week by two 15-year-old suspects. On Friday, Trump ordered officers from several federal agencies including the FBI and Immigration and Customs Enforcement to patrol the District for at least the following week.
Trump’s announcement was met by a crowd of around 150 protesters about a block north of the White House who rallied with “resist tyranny” and “no police state” signs and expressed their disapproval of his attempt to take over the city’s law enforcement.
Trump’s escalation of federal control in the city marks the first time a U.S. president has invoked Section 740 of the D.C. Home Rule Act, which allows for the federal takeover of the D.C. police. The deployment of 800 National Guard troops is the largest military presence in D.C. since 2020 when Black Lives Matter protests swept across the city.
Trump said Terry Cole, the administrator of the Drug Enforcement Agency, will serve as the federal leader of the MPD during the takeover, reporting to Bondi. At a press conference following Trump’s announcement, Bowser said D.C. Police Chief Pamela Smith will continue to serve as chief of the department’s more than 3,100 personnel.
Bowser said she did not know prior to Trump’s press conference that he planned to federalize the MPD. She also said she’s unsure if the National Guard troops the administration is deploying will be armed.
“We don’t believe it’s legal to use the American military against American citizens on American soil,” Bowser said.
The D.C. Home Rule Act, passed by Congress in 1973, authorizes the president to assume federal control of D.C. police if he declares a public emergency. The law states the takeover can last a maximum of 30 days, unless Congress passes a joint resolution authorizing an extension. A White House official confirmed to the New York Times on Monday that the administration plans the takeover to last the maximum duration of 30 days.
The Home Rule Act is what also enables D.C.’s residents to elect a city council and mayor to administrate the city. Trump has floated the idea since the beginning of his term of revoking the act and taking direct federal control of the city, but would need Congress to approve the move.
U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said during the conference that D.C.’s laws are “weak” and prevent her from prosecuting juvenile criminals as adults for violent crime. Juvenile criminals, who are 17 years or younger with some exceptions for extreme violent crimes, are not prosecuted by Pirro but rather by D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb, according to the D.C. Attorney General’s office.
“We need to go after the D.C. Council and their absurd laws,” Pirro said at the conference.
Trump suggested in a recent Truth Social post that D.C.’s laws “must be changed” so Pirro can prosecute youth offenders as adults starting at age 14.
Trump during the press conferenced referenced the 2023 murder rate in D.C. which hit an all-time high of 40 per 100,000 residents. Since 2023, the violent crime rate in D.C. has decreased significantly, dropping by 35 percent in 2024 to the lowest it had been in a 30-year span, according to Justice Department crime data.
Trump said with his order, police “are allowed to do whatever the hell they want” to control crime in the city.
Trump said along with cracking down on crime, police will remove more homeless encampments across the city. District officials cleared two unhoused encampments in Foggy Bottom in May, evicting about six people, following the issuing of a March 28 executive order calling for the National Park Service to promptly remove “homeless or vagrant encampments” on D.C.’s federal land.
Trump wrote on his Truth Social account Sunday morning that homeless people need to move out of D.C. “IMMEDIATELY,” posting several pictures of tented encampments and littered underpasses from his motorcade window as he was driven from the White House to his Virginia golf club.
“We will give you places to stay, but FAR from the Capital,” Trump wrote.
The demand to remove homeless encampments from the city follows Trump issuing of an executive order July 24 calling for an end to federal support of policies that do not require sobriety or mental health compliance as a precondition for receiving housing assistance.
Trump did not clarify during the conference where federal officials plan to move homeless people who police clear from encampments, or if they will receive assistance finding housing.
Prior to the announcement of a federal takeover of D.C. law enforcement, Smith announced the expansion of a youth curfew zone in Navy Yard which now begins at 8 p.m. and lasts until 6 a.m. all summer. Smith also instituted a youth curfew citywide, which begins at 11 p.m.
The D.C. Council issued a statement condemning the takeover as a “manufactured intrusion” on local authority. The statement said the MPD is the “best in the country” and that its officers should be the ones leading efforts to keep communities safe, not the National Guard.
“Public safety is built on trust, consistent enforcement, and community-based strategies. We must ensure that in our pursuit of safety, we do not create an atmosphere of surveillance, intimidation or unequal treatment under the law,” the Council’s statement said.
Ward 2 D.C. Council member Brooke Pinto, who represents the area including Foggy Bottom and chairperson of the committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety, said in a statement on X her “number one priority” is the safety of D.C. residents and visitors.
“The work continues to ensure safety is a reality for all, but that work is not accomplished by federal intervention in our local police department or dispatching hundreds of federal troops into our streets,” Pinto’s statement reads.
