President Donald Trump on Monday declared a “crime emergency” in Washington, D.C., invoking Section 740 of the Home Rule Act to take control of the Metropolitan Police Department. Referring to the day as “Liberation Day in D.C.,” he announced the deployment of 800 National Guard troops to “restore law, order and public safety.”
The order puts U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi in charge of the city’s police force. Guard troops will support officers on the streets but will not make arrests.
Trump described the city as being plagued by “crime, bloodshed, bedlam and squalor” and pledged to “get rid of the slums” by clearing homeless encampments — without offering details on where unhoused residents would go.
This federal takeover is allowed under a rarely used provision of the Home Rule Act. It lets a president assume control of D.C. police during a public safety emergency unless Congress intervenes.
Why now?
The move comes even as violent crime in D.C. is at a 30-year low. City data shows homicides, robberies and carjackings are all down sharply this year according to The Metropolitan police Department . FBI Director Kash Patel has said the murder rate is on track to be “the lowest in modern history.”
Critics say the timing has less to do with crime statistics and more with political optics — projecting a tough-on-crime stance ahead of a heated election season.
Mayor Muriel Bowser called the declaration “unsettling” and “hyperbolic and false,” stating that the administration is misrepresenting the city’s safety record. Civil rights advocates have expressed concern that the move may set a precedent for increased federal involvement in local governance.
Supporters in Congress, primarily Republicans, argue that intervention is necessary to address their concerns about lawlessness and public disorder.
What’s next?
Under the Home Rule Act, the federal control of D.C.’s police can last up to 30 days unless Congress extends it. For now, National Guard troops are expected to remain in the city for the duration of the order. City officials have signaled they will challenge the move in court, setting up a potential legal fight over the limits of presidential power in the nation’s capital.