President Trump on Monday introduced he was taking federal management of the Washington, D.C., police division and deploying the Nationwide Guard within the nation’s capital in an effort to crack down on crime.
“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 ot let it happen anymore. We’re not going to take it,” Trump mentioned.
Beneath the House Rule Act, Trump can quickly take management of the district’s police division if he determines “special conditions of an emergency nature exist.” The president introduced Monday he was declaring a public security emergency within the District.
Trump additionally has the authority to activate the D.C. Nationwide Guard with out native approval, although he’s restricted in sure different actions by the House Rule Act, which grants varied powers to the native authorities of the District.
Trump mentioned he was tapping Terry Cole, the administrator of the Drug Enforcement Company (DEA), to function the federal authorities’s chief of the Metropolitan Police Division. Cole was sworn in as DEA commissioner in July.
It was not clear if the White Home had coordinated its actions with native D.C. officers. A spokesperson for Mayor Muriel Bowser’s workplace declined to remark simply earlier than Trump started talking.
Crime in D.C. was down 35 % in 2024 from the earlier 12 months, marking a 30-year low. Knowledge from the district reveals violent crime can also be down up to now in 2025 in contrast with the earlier 12 months. Trump turned his consideration on town when a former member of DOGE was attacked throughout a automotive jacking within the metropolis earlier this month.
Trump, who addressed reporters from the White Home briefing room, solid doubt on these numbers. White Home officers have cited studies of a D.C. police commander who was positioned on depart over allegations he modified crime statistics.
The president pointed to a sequence of high-profile crimes involving people with ties to authorities, together with an incident earlier this month wherein Edward Coristine, a former Division of Authorities Effectivity (DOGE) staffer is aware of by the nickname “Big Balls,” was attacked.
Trump additionally pointed to the demise of Eric Tarpinian-Jachym, an intern within the workplace of Rep. Ron Estes (R-Kansas), who was killed in July.
“It’s becoming a situation of complete and total lawlessness,” Trump mentioned.
Trump was joined for Monday’s announcement by Lawyer Normal Pam Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel, Protection Secretary Pete Hegseth, Inside Secretary Doug Burgum and U.S. Lawyer for Washington, D.C., Jeanine Pirro.
The White Home has in current days surged federal regulation enforcement across the District as a part of a crackdown on crime. Officers from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the FBI, Secret Service and different companies have been deployed across the metropolis.
Updating 11:03 a.m.
