WASHINGTON (NewsNation) — Promising a sweeping crackdown on crime and homelessness in Washington, D.C., President Donald Trump has vowed to place the D.C. police department “under direct federal order” and deploy the National Guard.
“I’m announcing a historic action to rescue our nation’s capital from crime, bloodshed, bedlam and squalor,” Trump said from the White House.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, however, has said violent crime in the district has decreased since a rise in 2023.
Trump on Monday cited recent high-profile incidents, including the killing of a 21-year-old congressional intern and the beating of a former White House staffer during an attempted carjacking. “This is liberation day in D.C., and we’re going to take our capital back,” he said. “We’re going to clean it up real quick, very quickly.”
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem announced that federal immigration and border control officials have been deployed “to help clean up the streets of our nation’s capital.”
A White House official told NewsNation the takeover is expected to last 30 days but that is subject to change.
An Army spokesperson also confirmed to NewsNation that the National Guard troops deployed to the area are not expected to openly carry weapons.
Trump: AG Pam Bondi will take over DC police
Trump complained about potholes and graffiti in the city and said it was “embarrassing.”
“This is a tragic emergency. And it’s embarrassing for me to be up here,” Trump said. “I don’t like being up here talking about how unsafe and how dirty and disgusting this once beautiful capital was, with graffiti all over the walls.”
Trump also said he would bring in the military if needed.
“This is not a big area,” Trump said. “What you need is rules and regulations, and you need the right people to implement them.”
Trump said he signed an executive order and presidential memorandum in the Oval Office before Monday’s news conference.
One executive order invoked presidential powers under the Home Rule Act to take over Washington’s police force. He also signed what the administration called statutorily required notification letters to Bowser and relevant congressional leaders.
Trump also signed a presidential memorandum directing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to deploy the National Guard in the nation’s capital.
Trump is bringing 800 National Guard members to DC
In addition, Trump also said, “We will bring in the military if it’s needed,” but added, “I don’t think we’ll need it.”
Hegseth compared sending the Guard into the nation’s capital to deployments to the southern U.S. border and Los Angeles.
“We will work alongside all D.C. police and federal law enforcement,” Hegseth said.
Hegseth said the D.C. National Guard will be “flowing into the streets of Washington in the coming week.”
He also said the Pentagon was “prepared to bring in other National Guard units, other specialized units.”
Trump says other cities may be subject to the same efforts
Trump said he hopes other cities, including Los Angeles, New York and Chicago, are watching the steps he’s announced in D.C. and would take steps to “self-clean up.”
He stated that if necessary, the administration would take similar steps in other cities and criticized the leadership at both the local and state levels.
Violent crime down 26% from last year: DC police
Trump ordered federal law enforcement to patrol the district last week, a move Bowser called unnecessary. By Saturday night, 450 officers were patrolling popular tourist spots and made multiple arrests, including several for carrying firearms without a license.
Metropolitan Police Department data shows violent crime is down 26% compared to the same time last year.
Bowser has pushed back against Trump’s focus on crime in the district and said the decline in crime is due to the community’s cooperation.
“We had a terrible spike in crime in 2023, but this is not 2023, this is 2025,” she said Sunday on MSNBC. “We’ve done that by working with the community, working with the police, working with our prosecutors, and in fact working with the federal government.”
Bowser argued the focus should be on hiring more prosecutors and judges and improving the city jail, rather than ramping up federal enforcement.
Lawmakers react to federal policing in DC
Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser said Monday afternoon the city had reached a 30-year low in violent crime. Bowser said that overall crime was down not just from a post-pandemic peak in 2023 but from 2019 levels prior to the pandemic.
Bowser highlighted the district’s parks, schools and public transportation and said that it was important for those who live and visit here to know “just how beautiful our city is and how proud we are of all that we’ve accomplished here.”
Bowser’s comments were in response to President Trump’s announcement of his takeover of the D.C. police force. Bowser said that the steps were “unsettling” but not without precedent.
“My message to residents is this,” Bowser said. “We know that access to our democracy is tenuous. That is why you have heard me and many Washingtonians before me advocate for full statehood.”
D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb called the Trump administration’s move “unprecedented, unnecessary, and unlawful,” emphasizing that there is “no crime emergency” in D.C.
“Violent crime in DC reached historic 30-year lows last year, and is down another 26% so far this year,” he wrote in a social media post. “We are considering all of our options and will do what is necessary to protect the rights and safety of District residents.”
D.C. Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen called the move “outrageous and dangerous” for the district.
“The president taking over local control of MPD & putting the US military onto the streets of DC under the guise of public safety is wrong,” he said. “It’s an extreme, outrageous, and dangerous move for our city and the safety of all our residents.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.