(NewsNation) — Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi met Tuesday morning in the second day of President Donald Trump’s law enforcement takeover.
Bondi called the meeting “productive” in a post on X.
“I’m focused on the federal surge and how to make the most of the additional officer support that we have,” Bowser told reporters after the meeting. “We have the best in the business and [Police Chief] Pamela Smith to lead that effort, and to make sure that the men and women who are coming from federal law enforcement are being well used.”
It comes as National Guard troops hit the the ground in Washington, D.C..
A member of the District of Columbia National Guard arrives at the District of Columbia National Guard Headquarters, Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) 
National Guard troops arrive at the District of Columbia National Guard Headquarters, Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) 
A D.C. Metropolitan Police Department car is parked near a rally against the Trump administration’s federal takeover of the District of Columbia, outside of the AFL-CIO on Aug. 11, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images) 
Kelsye Adams, organizing director of DC Vote, speaks at a rally against the Trump administration’s federal takeover of the District of Columbia on Aug. 11, 2025. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images) 
President Donald Trump shows crime statistics as he delivers remarks during a news conference at the White House on Aug. 11, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images) 
President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference to discuss crime in Washington, D.C, at the White House on Aug. 11, 2025. Also pictured, from left, are U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Attorney General Pam Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel, and US Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / GETTY-AFP)
The federal government currently controls the district’s police, and it will likely be that way for at least a month.
Trump has portrayed the takeover — which he announced Monday alongside the deployment of 800 D.C. National Guard troops — as a way to curb crime in the nation’s capital. If it lasts longer than 30 days, the move will require congressional approval.
Trump described D.C. as a center of “bloodshed, bedlam and squalor,” despite violent crime numbers down 26% from last year, according to data from Washington’s Metropolitan Police.
“Our capital city has been overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals, roving mobs of wild youth, drugged-out maniacs and homeless people, and we’re not going to let it happen anymore,” the president told a packed White House press briefing room.
The activated federal troops won’t openly carry weapons, but they will help law enforcement with logistics, an Army spokesperson told NewsNation.
Trump wants to move homeless ‘far from the capital’
While Trump’s rhetoric has mainly focused on reducing crime in D.C., he has also threatened to remove unhoused people from the streets.
“The Homeless have to move out, IMMEDIATELY,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform on Sunday. “We will give you places to stay, but FAR from the Capital. The Criminals, you don’t have to move out. We’re going to put you in jail where you belong.”
Several questions remain unanswered about the fate of those without homes, including where people may be sent if shelters reach capacity.
“I’m just trying to live. I’m just trying to survive. I’m just trying to find a way. I’ve been just trying to find work. I mean, it’s been hard out here being homeless,” one unhoused person told NewsNation. “Shelters are not clean always. I mean, it’s like you’re surviving for yourself. I’m saying, I’m surviving myself right here.”
Several folks NewsNation spoke to said shelters easily fill up, and sometimes there is violence, raising concern for a potential sweep of encampments through the city.
Will Trump deploy National Guard troops in other cities?
Trump named New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles and Oakland as potential places to expand his crackdown.
He didn’t give details on when or how that would happen, but he urged those cities to watch what plays out in D.C. and to clean up their act.
Last week, the U.S. Conference of Mayors, which is made up of about 1,400 city leaders from across the country, pointed to an FBI report that showed violent crime nationwide dropped 4.5% from 2023 to 2024.
NewsNation’s Anna Kutz, Joe Khalil, Sean Noone and the Associated Press contributed to this report.