On Monday, President Donald Trump took control of the Washington, D.C., police department and sent 800 National Guard soldiers to the city. He said it was because crime there was “out of control.”
This is the first time any president has taken over the city’s police force. Many local leaders are upset because official reports show crime in D.C. is actually going down.
“This is a historic action to save our nation’s capital from crime and chaos,” Trump said during a press conference. “This is Liberation Day in D.C., and we’re going to take our capital back.”
Of the 800 National Guard soldiers, only about 100 to 200 will be helping police at any one time. Their jobs will be mostly paperwork, supplies, and being visible in the city.
D.C.’s top lawyer, Brian Schwalbe, called Trump’s move “unnecessary and against the law.” He said there is no crime emergency and that violent crime in D.C. is at a 30-year low and has dropped even more this year. He promised to fight Trump’s action in court.
Trump is using a law that allows the president to take control of D.C.’s police if there’s a special emergency. This control can last up to 30 days unless Congress votes to extend it.
Even though crime is down, there has been more federal law enforcement in the city recently. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D.C.’s representative in Congress (though she can’t vote), said Trump’s move was an “attack” on D.C.’s right to govern itself and that the statistics he used were old and misleading.
Trump said U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi is now in charge of D.C.’s police. He also warned that if needed, the military could be brought in.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser disagreed with Trump’s view of the city. She said people are moving to D.C., starting businesses, and raising families, and that comparing it to a war zone is “false.”
Trump had been hinting at this move for days on social media, saying crime and “filth” would disappear and that homeless people would have to leave the area near the Capitol. He promised the government would give them places to stay far from downtown.
Some in the White House say D.C.’s crime numbers are being manipulated. Trump has complained more about the city after a member of one of his government teams was assaulted there earlier this month.
Earlier this year, Trump also sent the National Guard to Los Angeles over protests related to immigration enforcement, which led to a lawsuit by California’s governor. That trial just began.