Trump's politically-motivated seizure of DC authorities was allegedly instigated by a perceived attack on a former DOGE employee and his personal observations of homelessness, according to Trump's supporters.
President Trump Takes Control of Washington D.C. Police Force
In an unprecedented move, President Donald Trump invoked Section 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act on August 11, 2025, to place the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) under direct federal control. This marked the first time a president has exercised this authority under the Home Rule Act.
The move, justified by Trump as necessary to address violent crime, came despite city statistics showing a 30-year low in violent incidents in the city[1][2][3]. The federal takeover of D.C.'s police force was done without local leaders' consent, marking a dramatic escalation in tensions between Trump and DC officials.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser publicly stated the city would comply with federal orders but used the situation to highlight the limits imposed on D.C.’s autonomy. She called for D.C. statehood and stated the move as "unsettling and unprecedented." DC Attorney General Brian Schwalb immediately called the takeover "unprecedented, unnecessary, and unlawful."
The Home Rule Act of 1973 grants D.C. residents elected local governance, including a mayor and council, and grants the President limited authority under Section 740 to federalize the city’s police force for up to 30 days during emergencies impacting federal interests[1][2]. Trump justified the takeover by citing crime and instability in D.C., labeling it a threat to America and threatening similar actions in other cities. However, data contradicted the rising crime narrative[2][4].
The National Guard troops, numbering 800, will focus on protecting federal assets within the city and law enforcement officers making arrests. The federal administration exerted significant control, including imposing new immigration enforcement policies that rescinded local "sanctuary" protections, leading to arrests of many undocumented immigrants—raising concerns from civil rights groups[5].
The move was widely criticized as both legally and politically contentious because it undermined the Home Rule Act’s purpose of local self-governance[1][5]. The federal intervention disrupted traditional local authority and intensified debates over D.C.’s lack of full autonomy and representation, renewing calls for statehood and greater control over its policing and governance[1][5]. Civil rights organizations warned about potential overreach and constitutional concerns, particularly regarding the use of federal power in a city that lacks statehood status but has elected local leadership[4].
The Trump administration had been working with city officials for months to crack down on crime and promote "beautification" in DC. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer criticized the takeover as "a political ploy and attempted distraction from Trump's other scandals."
In the wake of her complaints about juvenile crime in the city, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser pledged to work with Jeanine Pirro, the Trump-appointed US attorney for DC, on tightening certain laws. However, the federal takeover led to at least 200 arrests within the first week, indicating increased enforcement activity aligned with the administration’s harder stance on crime and immigration[5].
The city's statistics show a sustained, multiyear decline in violent offenses, but public perceptions of crime are often out of step with data. California Gov. Gavin Newsom drew direct parallels to Trump's deployment of the National Guard in Los Angeles in June. Other Democrats in DC and elsewhere cast the move as an extraordinary power grab.
The federal takeover of the D.C. police under the Home Rule Act altered the balance of local versus federal control, challenged the autonomy of D.C.’s elected officials, intensified law enforcement activities especially around immigration, and reignited ongoing political debates about D.C.’s self-governance rights and status[1][4][5].
1) The federal takeover of D.C.'s police force, a move initiated by President Donald Trump, has escalated political tensions between Trump and DC officials, especially since it was performed without local leaders' consent.
2) The policy change, supposedly to address violent crime, is seen by critics as an unprecedented and controversial action that undermines the Home Rule Act's purpose of local self-governance in Washington D.C.
3) The federal administration's control over the Washington D.C. Metropolitan Police Department extends to implementing new immigration enforcement policies, such as rescinding local "sanctuary" protections, leading to concerns from civil rights groups regarding potential overreach.
