DC officials respond to Trump's takeover of city police department: 'Manufactured intrusion'

Washington, D.C.'s city council and Mayor Muriel Bowser publicly responded Monday to President Donald Trump's decision to take over the city's police force, and his move to deploy the National Guard.

Trump announced Monday morning that he would crack down on crime in Washington, D.C. by invoking Section 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act. Under the act, Trump can temporarily seize control of the city's police department if he determines the situation meets certain emergency criteria.

Washington, D.C.'s liberal city council condemned the move in a statement, claiming it was a "manufactured intrusion on local authority," according to The Hill.

"Violent crime in the District is at the lowest rates we’ve seen in 30 years. Federalizing the Metropolitan Police Department is unwarranted because there is no Federal emergency,” the council said in a statement. “Further, the National Guard has no public safety training or knowledge of local laws. The Guard’s role does not include investigating or solving crimes in the District. Calling out the National Guard is an unnecessary deployment with no real mission.”

Trump has countered the argument that crime is decreasing in the city by highlighting that D.C.'s crime rates have surpassed that of the capitals of many other nations, including Mexico City. The White House has also claimed that the city's crime rate is the fourth highest in the country, behind cities like New Orleans and St. Louis.

Bowser said the president's move to take over the city police force was "unsettling and unprecedented," but was not surprising.

“I can’t say that given some of the rhetoric of the past, that we’re totally surprised,” Bowser said in a press briefing. “I can say to D.C. residents that we will continue to operate our government in a way that makes you proud.”

Bowser said the city has also asked all law enforcement on duty in Washington to wear identifying clothing to avoid confusion.

The district's sole House delegate, Eleanor Holmes Norton, a Democrat, claimed the president's implementation of the National Guard constituted an "historic assault" on the city's home rule.

“President Trump’s decision to federalize [the police] and activate the D.C. National Guard to address crime is an historic assault on D.C. home rule, is a counterproductive, escalatory seizure of D.C.’s resources to use for purposes not supported by D.C. residents, and is more evidence of the urgent need to pass my D.C. statehood bill,” Norton said in a news release.

“Crime in D.C. reached a 30-year low in 2024 and is down 26% this year compared to the same time period last year," she continued. "The administration is justifying the decision by misleadingly citing years-old statistics."

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.