Trump Takes Control of Washington Police in Crime-Fighting Action

President stated on Sunday (10) that he intends to expel homeless people from the American capital. Trump Takes Control of Washington Police in Crime-Fighting Action. The President of the United States, Donald Trump, announced on Monday (11) that he will put the Metropolitan Police Department of Washington, D.C. under federal control and will send the National Guard to the city, stating that the measure aims to restore order in the country’s capital. ‘I am officially invoking section 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, you know what it is, and putting the Metropolitan Police Department of Washington D.C. under direct federal control,’ said Trump during a press conference at the White House. The president told a crowd of reporters that his actions are as if ‘something is out of control, but we will quickly get this under control, as we did at the southern border’. ‘I am sending the National Guard to help restore law, order, and public safety in Washington, D.C., and they will be able to do their job properly,’ added Trump. Trump’s announcement is his latest effort to target democratic cities, exercising Executive power over traditionally local affairs. He has rejected criticism that he is manufacturing a crisis to justify expanding presidential authority. Hundreds of officers and agents from over a dozen federal agencies have already spread throughout the city in recent days. Washington’s Democratic mayor, Muriel Bowser, rebuffed Trump’s claims, stating that the city ‘is not suffering a crime spike’ and highlighting that violent crime reached its lowest level in over three decades last year. Violent crime fell by 26% in the first seven months of 2025, after dropping by 35% in 2024, and overall crime decreased by 7%, according to the city’s police department. But gun violence remains a problem. In 2023, Washington had the third-highest rate of gun homicides among U.S. cities with populations over 500,000, according to the gun control advocacy group Everytown for Gun Safety.