On August 11, 2025, President Donald Trump issued a sweeping order placing Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) under federal control for up to 30 days under Section 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act.
The move, designed to address a perceived surge in violence and lawlessness, includes the deployment of 800 National Guard troops to support law enforcement efforts. The initiative draws widespread condemnation from D.C. officials and experts who cite sharply declining crime rates as contradictory to Trump’s assertions.
At a televised press conference, Trump declared the action a “historic” step to “rescue our nation’s capital from crime, bloodshed, bedlam, and squalor.” He dubbed the day “Liberation Day in DC” and warned that federal interventions could spread to other cities, including New York and Chicago. Attorney General Pam Bondi was placed in charge of the MPD, with DEA Administrator Terry Cole named interim police commissioner, while Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth signaled that additional federal forces, including 120 FBI agents, were being mobilized for night patrols.
Trump painted a grim picture of the city, asserting that Washington was “overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals” and contending that its murder rate surpassed that of locales such as Bogotá or Mexico City—even as official D.C. crime statistics tell a strikingly different story.
Contrary to the president’s remarks, data reveals a different reality. According to the Metropolitan Police Department, violent crime has plummeted to a 30-year low, with a 26% decline reported in 2025. FBI Director Kash Patel inadvertently highlighted the discrepancy during the event, noting that the U.S. murder rate is on track to be the lowest in modern history.
‘Unsettling, unprecedented’
The federal takeover has triggered fierce backlash. Mayor Muriel Bowser called the action “unsettling and unprecedented” but acknowledged that under the Home Rule Act, she had little choice but to comply. Civil rights groups have denounced the move as an alarming erosion of local governance and potentially unconstitutional. Critics point to parallels with authoritarian overreach and the dangers of normalizing militarized law enforcement in civic life.Section 740 of the Home Rule Act empowers the president to federalize DC police in emergency situations but restricts abuse by mandating either a return to local control after 30 days or explicit congressional approval for extension. The DC version of the National Guard, unlike in states, falls under federal authority, granting the administration broad operational authority.
This extraordinary federal assertion follows earlier deployments to cities like Los Angeles in the summer. Legal scholars caution that such actions may set dangerous precedents in democratic governance. Observers say any long-term federal control risks undermining the Home Rule principles governing the capital.
