Topline
President Donald Trump said Monday Washington, D.C., police would be controlled by the federal government as he announced a crime crackdown in the capital.
Trump also said he would deploy the National Guard in D.C., promising to “clean it up real quick, very quickly,” describing “crime, bloodshed, bedlam and squalor,” despite crime in D.C. reaching a 30-year low this year.
Trump, dubbing Monday “LIBERATION DAY IN D.C.,” the same moniker he used to describe new tariffs he announced in April, said he “quickly fixed the Border” and “D.C. is next!!!” on social media Monday, ahead of his 10 a.m. EDT press conference, adding “the days of ruthlessly killing, or hurting, innocent people, are OVER!”
Trump reportedly sent FBI officials to conduct patrols in the city overnight on Sunday.
Trump previewed the Monday announcement in a Truth Social post Sunday that included images of tent encampments and trash along the streets, writing that homeless people “have to move out, IMMEDIATELY,” warning “criminals” would be “put in jail,” and adding “it’s all going to happen very fast, just like the Border.”
Monday’s announcement comes as Trump has renewed his threats to “take Federal control of the City,” in recent days, repeating a warning he’s made for years to tamp down on crime, often putting him at odds with Democrats who control the city’s local government.
The Trump administration reportedly reassigned 120 FBI agents to night patrols in Washington, D.C., enlisting agents from Philadelphia and other locations. The Secret Service has also been ordered to conduct “special patrols” in the city. National Guard troops Trump may deploy to D.C. are not expected to have arrest power.
Trump said in a Truth Social post Sunday he will also announce “beautification” efforts in D.C., writing that Monday’s press conference “will also be about Cleanliness and the General Physical Renovation and Condition of our once beautiful and well maintained Capital.”
Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser rejected Trump’s claims of a crime spike in D.C., but suggested in an interview on MSNBC on Sunday local authorities would cooperate with the federal crackdown. Bowser said she and Trump have “shared priorities” and touted cooperation between federal and local law enforcement, who she said “always work cooperatively with us, and we expect that they will again.” Violent crime, however, is down 26% in D.C. compared to last year, a 30-year-low, Bowser noted in the interview. Trump criticized Bowser in one of his Truth Social posts over the weekend, writing that she “is a good person who has tried, but she has been given many chances, and the Crime Numbers get worse, and the City only gets dirtier and less attractive.”
FBI Patrols Reportedly Deployed In D.C. As Trump Says Homeless Must Leave ‘Immediately’—What We Know (Forbes)