Washington, DC
On August 11, 2025, President Donald Trump placed the Washington, DC, police department under federal control and deployed 800 National Guard troops in the capital city. It was the first time that a president has federalized the Metropolitan Police Department. Trump stated: "I'm announcing a historic action to rescue our nation's capital from crime, bloodshed, bedlam and squalor, and worse. This is Liberation Day in DC, and we're going to take our capital back".
Trump cited what he claimed was out-of-control crime in the District of Columbia. However, statistics from the Metropolitan Police Department show that incidences of homicide, sexual abuse, assault with a dangerous weapon, robbery, and overall violent crime have dropped by double-digit percentages so far this year. A year-to-date comparison with the same period in 2024 shows a big drop in violent crime: 1,685 offences in 2025 compared with 2,310 in 2024, a drop of 27%. There were 103 homicides during the period, down from 122 the previous year, a 16% drop Crime numbers disputed as National Guard deployed to DC. While Trump cited a crime emergency, he referred to the same crime that city officials stress is already falling noticeably. Violent crime levels in the city have decreased compared to years prior, down 26% since 2024, a 30-year low, according to crime stats released by DC's Metropolitan Police Department.
Trump's federalization of the city's police force relies on his authority under Section 740 of the district's Home Rule Act, the decades-old law that established Washington's local government. That section gives a president the power to order the district's mayor to temporarily hand over control of the Metropolitan Police force if the president determines that "special conditions of an emergency nature exist." The emergency control is set to expire after a maximum of 30 days, according to the statute. That can be extended, but only if Congress passes a law authorizing it. In Section 740 of the Home Rule Act, Congress gave the President limited, temporary authority to request and receive the "services" of MPD under special emergency circumstances and solely for "federal purposes." The President's authority expires within 30 days or when the emergency ends, whichever comes first, unless extended by Congress. The Home Rule Act keeps operational control of MPD under the Mayor and Chief of Police, and it only permits the President to make requests of MPD through the Mayor.
Since DC does not have statehood, its National Guard answers directly to the president. In the District's 52 years of Home Rule, no President had ever previously attempted to exercise this authority. Trump's decision to federalize the National Guard as a blanket response to crime in DC—which he has described repeatedly as out of control, despite the significant drop in the city's crime rate—is a departure from the National Guard's intended mission.
Some of the 800 National Guard members deployed by President Trump began arriving in the nation's capital on Tuesday, August 12, 2025. Three Republican-led states said they were deploying hundreds of National Guard members to the nation's capital to bolster the Trump administration's effort. West Virginia said it was deploying 300 to 400 Guard troops, while South Carolina pledged 200 and Ohio said it would send 150 in the coming days, marking a significant escalation of the federal intervention. To assist the DC National Guard, troops from the National Guards in West Virginia, South Carolina, Mississippi, Ohio, Louisiana and Tennessee were called upon. Troops from the GOP-led states began arriving in the nation's capital in mid-August.
Of the more than 2,200 National Guard soldiers President Donald Trump deployed to Washington, DC, roughly 1,300 were from supporting states outside of DC. The military task force overseeing the operation said that most of those troops were in place by late August, bringing the force size in the nation's capital up to 2,282.
On August 14, 2025, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi issued an order to Mayor Bowser attempting to place DEA Administrator Terry Cole in charge of MPD as "Emergency Police Commissioner," replacing MPD Chief Pamela Smith and assuming all of the Chief's powers and responsibilities. The order also claimed to rescind certain MPD policies Bondi backs off initial order to take over DC police, issues new directive that keeps chief in place.
The Office of the Attorney General's lawsuit sought to defend the District's authority under the Home Rule Act, block the Administration's unlawful orders, protect the safety of DC residents, workers, businesses and visitors, and affirm that MPD remains under District control.
DC Attorney General Brian Schwalb stated: "By declaring a hostile takeover of MPD, the Administration is abusing its limited, temporary authority under the Home Rule Act, infringing on the District's right to self-governance and putting the safety of DC residents and visitors at risk. This is the gravest threat to Home Rule that the District has ever faced, and we are fighting to stop it".
Washington, DC's police chief became the force's top official once again after the Trump administration rescinded an order that stripped her of power less than a day after U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi issued it. As part of an agreement struck Friday between attorneys from the Department of Justice and DC Attorney General Brian Schwalb's office, Drug Enforcement Administration Chief Terry Cole would now be considered Bondi's "designee," instead of the emergency police chief Bondi backs off initial order to take over DC police, issues new directive that keeps chief in place. DC Police Chief Pamela Smith continued leading the department. At the end of the hearing, the Justice Department made Cole an intermediary between the White House and MPD during the Trump administration's takeover of the city's police.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Friday, August 22, ordered the authorization of roughly 2,000 National Guard troops in DC to begin carrying weapons. It marked a shift in the posture of the guard members, who had been unarmed as they worked to support law enforcement by assisting with community safety patrols, traffic control points and crowd flow support National Guard troops in DC begin carrying firearms. US National Guard members deployed to Washington, DC, started carrying their sidearms on Sunday, August 24, following a directive by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth last week that authorized members of the National Guard to begin carrying weapons.
Armed guard members carry the type of weapon they are normally issued and trained on, typically M17 handguns and M4 semiautomatic rifles, similar to assault-style rifles. Some guard members carry M9 pistols The weapons that National Guard troops now carry in Washington, DC. The majority of the guard members carried M17 pistols, their service-issued weapons, while a small number of the troops are armed with their service M4 rifles. The troops are authorized to use their weapons for self-protection and "as a last resort" in response to an "imminent threat of death or serious bodily harm" National Guard troops in DC begin carrying firearms. Task force personnel operate under the established Rules for the Use of Force, which allow the use of force only as a last resort and solely in response to an imminent threat of death or serious bodily harm.
Outside Union Station in the US capital, soldiers lingered near large armoured vehicles as commuters and tourists snap photos of the unusual scene. Inside the century-old transportation hub, a dozen National Guard soldiers pace the marble floors, appearing to be armed only with zip-tie handcuffs. Working in shifts, Guard troops began deploying in small numbers at popular tourist spots like the Washington Monument along the National Mall, where crime is relatively low. Standing alongside armored Humvees, the unarmed soldiers and airman could be seen posing for pictures with tourists and talking with children.
One soldier from Tennessee told his father that from 4 p.m. to 4 a.m. every day, his only task is to walk around Chinatown. Another service member from Mississippi told a loved one that she'd been repeatedly cursed at while on patrol. During a call to his wife, a guardsman from Louisiana said there was confusion about what the military was actually doing there .
Some soldiers have also been doing things like replanting grass. Most of that beautification work has been assigned to soldiers from the DC National Guard to avoid angering GOP governors who have sent their troops . Soldiers and airmen assigned to a beautification task force conducted site surveys to begin community restoration projects Some National Guard troops in DC now carrying service-issued weapons.
On August 24, Mississippi National Guard service members assigned to JTF-DC responded to civilian calls for help. Troops formed a protective barrier between a suspect and victims while also notifying Capitol Police. Capitol Police took the suspect into custody Some National Guard troops in DC now carrying service-issued weapons.
Arrests under President Trump's federal crime crackdown in Washington, DC, surpassed 1,000 as the nation's capital marked its 12th consecutive day without a homicide in late August. On Sunday alone there were 86 arrests and 10 illegal guns seized, bringing the totals to 1,007 arrests and 111 guns taken off the streets DC arrests surpass 1,000 as Trump-backed crackdown enters 12th homicide-free day. As of early September, Joint Task Force-DC said there had been a 37% drop in carjackings in DC, a 50% decrease in robberies, and a 23% drop in violent crime since the mission began.
Mayor of Washington Muriel Bowser stated: "The difference between this period, this 20-day period of this federal surge and last year, represents an 87% reduction in carjackings in Washington". The surge of federal forces, immigration agents and National Guard troops appears to have negatively affected tourism and restaurants in DC. Elliott Ferguson, CEO of Destination DC, stated: "The visuals are checkpoints, police everywhere, and tanks rolling down the street—which is not our reality".
The number of seated diners for online reservations was down 2% in August compared to July, and was down 5% compared to June, according to data provided by OpenTable. Furthermore, August was the first month since at least October 2024 that didn't see any growth in the number of seated diners when compared to the same month from the previous year. Analysis found that people showing up to work declined about 3% starting with the deployment.
The two-month deployment of 5,000 National Guardsmen to Los Angeles had a price tag of about $134 million, suggesting similar costs for the DC deployment Considering the economic impact of the President’s law enforcement measures in DC. The cost for a deployment of about 2,000 Guard soldiers typically averages around $20 million per month, and could negatively impact readiness by taking money away from drills and individual training Some National Guard troops in DC now carrying service-issued weapons.
The emergency control was set to expire after a maximum of 30 days according to the statute. That can be extended, but only if Congress passes a law authorizing it. The Trump administration was expected to approve an extension of U.S. troops' deployment in DC that could stretch until Dec. 31, to ensure that National Guard forces sent to the capital are mobilized long enough to receive the full complement of service-related benefits. National Guard troops deployed in Washington, DC, as part of President Donald Trump's anti-crime initiative are expected to have their military orders extended through December. The extension, which has not been finalized, is intended to ensure continuity of benefits for service members and their families, not necessarily to signal that the mission will last until year's end. In a visit to Guard personnel, Trump suggested the military personnel would be playing a larger role in law enforcement in the city. He also suggested the troops could stay for six months or longer: "You do the job on safety, and I'll get this place fixed up physically, and we're going to be so proud of it at the end of six months".
DC Mayor Muriel Bowser and others highlighted pre-existing crime drops and argued troops lack proper training for policing. Mayor Muriel Bowser criticized Trump's use of the Guard as an "armed militia in the Nation's Capital," stating: "Crime has gone down in our city and it has gone down precipitously over the last two years because of a lot of hard work, changes to our public safety ecosystem". Eleanor Holmes Norton, a Democrat who is the District of Columbia's nonvoting delegate in the House of Representatives, called Trump's actions "an historic assault on DC home rule," and a "counterproductive, escalatory seizure of DC's resources to use for purposes not supported by DC residents".
Randy Kindle, a 48-year-old Air Force veteran, called the deployment a "show," stating: "It's disrespectful to our troops to have to invade their own country essentially and be pitted against their own citizens". Resident Daniel Fabiano stated: "Having troops in a civilian American neighborhood does not make anyone safer at all." Another resident, Priscilla Martinez, said: "I feel safe around the protests. I don't feel safe around the military at the moment".
Jamie Dickstein, a 24-year-old teacher, said she was "very uncomfortable and worried" for the safety of her students given the "unmarked officers of all types" now roaming Washington and detaining people. "We haven't gotten critically low on morale, but we're falling fast," said one soldier who spoke to CNN on the condition of anonymity. Though some of the National Guard and their families expressed support for Trump and his decision to send troops to DC, they acknowledged the personal sacrifices for soldiers on the mission. In many cases, the standard military pay is less than what a soldier or airman may be earning in their civilian careers.
Trump's decision to assert federal control over Washington, DC's police force and deploy National Guard troops to patrol the capital marked a stunning departure from governing norms. In June 2025, Trump broke longstanding tradition by federalizing thousands of California National Guard troops in Los Angeles in response to protests against immigration raids—a situation that happens "virtually never".
Trump had given multiple explanations for the deployments, saying they are officially part of crackdowns on protests, crime, homelessness, and undocumented immigration. The actions targeted Democratic Party-led cities and sparked significant controversy, with critics labeling them as abuses of power 2025 deployment of federal forces in the United States - Wikipedia. Legal experts say there is a larger pattern of the normalization of armed uniformed troops on US streets that is challenging the long history in the US of limiting the role of the military domestically: "It continues to get Americans used to the idea that that's a normal thing, and that as you go about your daily business, you should just get used to it, and that's the way it's going to be".
This deployment represented an unprecedented use of presidential authority over the nation's capital, blending federal control of local police with National Guard deployment in a manner never before attempted in DC's 52 years of Home Rule, raising significant constitutional, legal, and democratic governance questions.
Some on the left vowed to “defund” the police. Others on the right promised to instead “back the blue” and maintain or increase police funding.
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