Trump Deploys National Guard To DC
President Donald Trump has declared a “public safety emergency” in Washington DC, deploying 800 National Guard troops and placing the city’s police force under federal control. Framing the move as a crackdown on “lawlessness,” Trump said, “This is liberation day in DC, and we’re going to take our capital back.” Attorney General Pam Bondi has been put in charge of the Metropolitan Police Department, with the White House citing a local law allowing such action under emergency conditions.
Mayor Muriel Bowser and other local leaders have strongly pushed back against the decision, calling Trump’s claims misleading. Bowser acknowledged a spike in crime in 2023 but emphasized that violent crime is down and now at a 30-year low. “We are not experiencing a crime spike,” she said. The city’s own police data shows homicides dropped 32% between 2023 and 2024, with another 12% decrease so far in 2025. Critics, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, called Trump’s move politically motivated, with Jeffries saying, “Donald Trump has no basis to take over the local police department.”
Trump also vowed to clear out homeless encampments, saying the homeless would be moved “FAR from the Capital,” though he gave no details. Advocacy groups and local officials criticized the plan, arguing that displacing people is not a solution. Protesters gathered outside the White House chanting “hands off DC,” while Bowser called the intervention “unsettling” and accused Trump of acting based on outdated perceptions from the COVID era.
