US President Donald Trump declared a 'public safety emergency' in Washington, DC, on Monday. He announced that his administration would take control of the city's police department and deploy 800 members of the National Guard in the nation's Capital.
The announcement, made in a press conference flanked by top administration officials, is part of what Trump calls an effort to "take our capital back."
Trump said he was declaring a public safety emergency and his administration would be removing homeless encampments.
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"We're going to take our capital back," Trump declared, adding he'd also be "getting rid of the slums."
Why did Trump take over the Washington Police?
Trump invoked Section 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act in an executive order to declare a "crime emergency" so his administration could take over the city's police force.
He signed a directive for Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth to activate the National Guard.
{{/usCountry}}He signed a directive for Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth to activate the National Guard.
{{/usCountry}}The president cast his actions as necessary to "rescue" Washington from a purported wave of lawlessness. Statistics show that violent crime shot up in 2023 but has been rapidly declining since.
However, Trump offered no evidence that violent crime is surging in Washington. In fact, city statistics show the opposite: violent crime in DC is down 26% this year, following a spike in 2023. Homicides, robberies, and burglaries have all declined significantly, the AP reported.
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About 500 federal law enforcement officers are being tasked with deploying throughout the nation's Capital as part of Trump's effort to combat crime, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press.
According to the Army, Guard troops will be deployed under Title 32, or “federal-state status” authority. That means the troops can conduct law enforcement activities on the streets of the nation's capital — though, at the moment, that doesn’t appear to be the plan.
Attorney General Pam Bondi will assume responsibility for Washington’s metro police department, Trump said, as he also railed against potholes and graffiti in the city and called them “embarrassing.”
The president did not provide a timeline for the control of the police department, but he's limited to 30 days under statute.