President Donald Trump has announced the federalization of Washington, D.C.’s police department and the deployment of 800 National Guard troops to the capital, in what he described as a bold effort to restore order amid what he characterized as rampant crime. Speaking at a press conference on August 11, 2025, Trump declared, “This is Liberation Day in D.C., and we’re going to take our capital back,” asserting his commitment to using every tool available to rein in criminals.
At the briefing, Trump emphasized the need to reassert federal authority over local law enforcement, placing the Metropolitan Police Department under immediate federal command and designating Attorney General Pam Bondi to direct operations. He invoked Section 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act of 1973 and declared a public safety emergency. In addition to National Guard deployment, the administration is dispatching roughly 500 federal law enforcement officers—including over 100 FBI agents and nearly 40 from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives—along with personnel from the DEA, ICE, U.S. Marshals Service and other agencies, to bolster patrols and visibility across the city.
Despite Trump’s portrayal of D.C. as deteriorating into “crime, bloodshed, bedlam and squalor,” local officials, including Mayor Muriel Bowser, have pointed to significant reductions in crime. Violent crime is down approximately 26% year-over-year, and 2024 marked a 30-year low in homicides. Legal experts and Democratic lawmakers swiftly criticized the administration’s actions as unprecedented and potentially unconstitutional, arguing that the move undermines the city’s limited home rule and infringes upon its democratic governance.
Adding to the controversy, the administration also signaled intentions to clear homeless encampments in the city. Trump vowed to relocate unhoused individuals “far from the Capital,” framing this action as part of his broader 'Making the District of Columbia Safe and Beautiful' agenda.
The sweeping federal intervention in Washington, D.C.’s local affairs has set off a fierce debate over executive authority, urban autonomy, and the balance between public safety and civil liberties in the nation’s capital.