Trump orders federal takeover of DC Police and calls in National Guard

Trump orders federal takeover of DC Police and calls in National Guard. Opponents call the move a distraction from Trump’s handling of Epstein files and the economy.

Following through on threats he made in the middle of last week, president Trump has ordered the Washington DC Police to be federalized and has ordered in 8 hundred members of the National Guard to bolster policing in the nation’s capital. Trump said part of his reason for doing this was an attack on a young former Department of Government Efficiency staffer earlier this month.

Section 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act allows the President to nationalize the DC police for up to 30 days based on the President’s determination of a special emergency. The “emergency”, according to Trump, is out-of-control violent crime in DC. Trump claimed earlier today that crime, particularly violent crime, is on the rise in DC. However, even federal data shows that violent crime is down significantly in the city after reaching a 20-year high in 2023.

Trump also seemed to encourage police in the district to treat suspects brutally if they resist. He said that under his leadership, DC police could “do whatever the hell they want” in the face of provocations. “That’s the only language they understand. They like to spit in the face of the police. You spit, and we hit, and they get hit real hard,” Trump said.

Members of federal law enforcement agencies including the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, and the US marshals will also be deployed. Trump also said he would call in active duty military if necessary.

“Unprecedented, unnecessary, and unlawful”

DC attorney general Brian Schwalb called Trump’s move “unprecedented, unnecessary, and unlawful”. He said his office was “considering all of our options and will do what’s necessary to protect the rights and safety of District residents”. DC’s Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser, who had until maintained a working relationship with the White House, avoided criticizing Trump directly, but called the move “unsettling and unprecedented”. She also said she would “work every day to make sure it’s not a complete disaster”.

Trump’s political opponents have raised questions as to his motivation for this move and the timing of it. Trump has often criticized Democratic-run cities like DC, either he viewed them as being soft on crime or because they are more likely to be supportive of undocumented migrants. This is also not the first time Trump has deployed the National Guard in DC. The first time was in 2020 during the height of the George Floyd riots. In one infamous incident, Trump ordered the guards to clear protesters near the White House with tear gas so that he could stage a photo op holding up a Bible.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called the takeover “a political ploy and attempted distraction from Trump’s other scandals”. Democratic Senator Dick Durbin accused Trump of trying to shift focus from fury over his refusal to release the Epstein files as well as growing public discontent over the rising cost of living and other economic turmoil due to Trump’s economic policies.

A source close to the White House raised another possibility to CNN, namely that Trump wants the city’s image cleaned up ahead of hosting events for the nation’s 250th Anniversary next year.