WASHINGTON — The DC National Guard began deploying in the nation’s capital on Tuesday, a day after President Donald Trump announced he was placing the city’s police department under direct federal control — an extraordinary move enabled by the District’s unique status.
The president invoked emergency powers under the Home Rule Act of 1973, which allows the White House to assume command of the Metropolitan Police Department for up to 30 days with congressional notification. Any extension would require a new law. The DC National Guard, unlike state guards, already answers directly to the president.
Trump said the move was necessary to “liberate” Washington from what he called spiraling crime, citing the assault of a 19-year-old former Department of Government Efficiency worker during an attempted carjacking on August 3. “Washington, D.C. will be LIBERATED today!” he wrote on Truth Social.
City statistics, however, show that violent crime has fallen this year compared with 2023, when crime levels peaked. Critics argue the federalization is less about safety than politics.
The announcement also comes as Justice Department lawyers defend in court Trump’s earlier deployment of the National Guard in California during June immigration raids in Los Angeles, a move now facing legal challenges.
The federal takeover of the capital’s police force — one of the most dramatic assertions of presidential authority in recent decades — sets up a political fight in Congress over whether Trump can extend control beyond the 30-day limit, and raises new questions about the balance of local governance and federal oversight in the District.
