D.C. Police Union Backs Trump’s Capital Takeover: ‘Immediate Action Is Necessary’
The union representing more than 3,000 officers in Washington, D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department endorsed President Donald Trump’s decision to take temporary federal control of local law enforcement, calling the city’s crime crisis unsustainable and demanding urgent action.
In a statement Monday, the D.C. Police Union said it “acknowledges and supports the President’s announcement this morning to assume temporary control of the MPD in response to the escalating crime crisis in Washington, DC,” adding, “The Union agrees that crime is spiraling out of control, and immediate action is necessary to restore public safety. However, we emphasize that federal intervention must be a temporary measure, with the ultimate goal of empowering a fully staffed and supported MPD to protect our city effectively.”
Trump’s declaration of “Liberation Day in D.C.” shifts authority over the Metropolitan Police Department to the Department of Justice, placing DEA Administrator Terry Cole in charge. The president is also deploying 800 National Guard troops to assist in patrolling the streets, part of a sweeping federal push to crack down on violent crime, homelessness, and urban blight.
Democratic city leaders reacted with outrage. Mayor Muriel Bowser labeled the move “unsettling and unprecedented,” while the Democrat-controlled D.C. City Council called it “a manufactured intrusion on local authority,” claiming violent crime in the city is “at the lowest rates we’ve seen in 30 years.” They also argued that the National Guard lacks public safety training and that its deployment would be “an unnecessary use of resources with no real mission.”
Despite their protests, Bowser conceded that Section 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act grants the president the authority to federalize local law enforcement.
The White House defended the takeover, pointing to crime statistics showing D.C.’s homicide rate far outpaces many major U.S. cities and even some foreign capitals. “In 2024, Washington, D.C. saw a homicide rate of 27.3 per 100,000 residents,” the administration said, noting that this was the fourth-highest in the nation — nearly six times higher than New York City and higher than Atlanta, Chicago, and Compton. Officials also cited reports alleging local leaders manipulated crime data to present a rosier picture than reality.
The Trump administration’s move marks one of the most direct federal interventions in D.C. governance in decades, setting up a political and legal showdown over the balance of local autonomy and federal authority in the nation’s capital.