Donald Trump has said he will ask Congress for 'long-term' control of Washington DC's police department, signalling that he expects other Democratic-led cities to follow suit in response to his deployment of National Guard troops and federal agents. The president made the remarks on Wednesday during a visit to the Kennedy Center, as the White House took credit for dozens of arrests in the capital as part of his campaign to fight a 'crime crisis' that city leaders insist does not exist.
Trump earlier this week invoked a never-before-used clause in the law governing the federal district to take temporary control of the police department, but requires congressional approval to extend it beyond the 30 days allowed. 'We're going to need a crime bill that we're going to be putting in, and it's going to pertain initially to DC,' he said. 'We're going to use it as a very positive example, and we're going to be asking for extensions on that, long-term extensions, because you can't have 30 days.' He added that if a national emergency is declared, he could act without Congress.
The president spoke after National Guard troops appeared on the National Mall on Tuesday evening, alongside officers from the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies. Video on local media showed arrests in Columbia Heights, home to the city's largest Hispanic population, and traffic stops near Kennedy Street, a past site of gang activity. A White House official credited the deployment with 43 arrests, though the Metropolitan Police Department reported 76 arrests citywide on Tuesday, compared to an average of 56 per day in 2024.
More than 1,450 officers participated, half from the city's police, while only 30 of the expected 800 National Guard troops have been deployed. The White House signalled a 'significantly higher' National Guard presence and round-the-clock federal patrols in the coming days. Trump accused Democrats of being 'afraid to do anything because they don't want to be criticised. But fighting crime is a good thing.' He warned he would seek changes to DC's crime laws, pointing to cash-bail reform from 1992, and hinted at targeting New York, Chicago and Los Angeles.
Democratic lawmakers have condemned the incursion as authoritarian, suggesting it is a distraction from outrage over Trump's refusal to release files related to Jeffrey Epstein. Local officials dispute the characterisation of a crime crisis, noting that crime rates fell last year to the lowest in three decades, though certain violent crime rates remain higher than comparable cities. Trump ordered federal assets into the capital after a staffer from the so-called 'department of government efficiency' was attacked in an upscale entertainment district.
