U.S. President Donald Trump has taken temporary control of Washington’s police force and ordered 800 National Guard troops into the city, citing a “public safety emergency” despite crime rates falling sharply in recent years.
Trump announced the measures at The White House on Monday, bypassing the city’s Democratic leadership under powers in the District of Columbia’s Home Rule Act. The law allows the president to assume command of the Metropolitan Police Department for up to 30 days in an “emergency.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi will oversee the force, while between 100 and 200 Guard members will be deployed at any given time to assist law enforcement with administrative, logistical and public-order duties, the U.S. Army said.
The move follows a similar deployment to Los Angeles in June, now the subject of a federal court challenge over whether the president violated U.S. law by acting without a governor’s consent. Trump signalled that Chicago could be next.
Washington’s Mayor Muriel Bowser rejected the president’s claims of “unchecked violence,” noting violent crime in the city dropped 35% in 2024 and has fallen a further 26% in the first seven months of 2025, according to police data. The city’s attorney general, Brian Schwalb, called Trump’s action “unlawful” and said legal options were being considered.
Trump’s announcement came as his administration cut $20 million (about £15.7 million) in federal urban security funding for the National Capital Region, a 44% reduction from last year. He also pledged to clear homeless encampments on federal land, without detailing relocation plans.
The president has full authority over the 2,700-strong D.C. National Guard, unlike in states where governors command the force. Federal troops have been sent to the capital repeatedly in recent decades, including during the 6 January 2021 Capitol attack and the 2020 anti-racism protests.
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