How Trump is able to federalise DC police, deploy National Guard

US President Donald Trump, in a stunning assertion of presidential power, has federalised the police force in Washington, D.C. whilst also deploying some 800 National Guard troops to quell crime and tackle homelessness in the city.

Declaring Aug 11 as “Liberation Day”, Trump on Monday signed an executive order which invoked Section 740 of the District of Columbia’s 1973 Home Rule Act to decry a “crime emergency”. Trump added that US Attorney General Pam Bondi was now responsible for Washington’s Metropolitan Police Department. Furthermore, he signed a directive for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to activate the National Guard.

Was it really necessary?

Trump has been pushing for a federal takeover of the national capital since his first term in the White House. Those feelings persisted throughout his presidential campaign last year, when he repeatedly promised a federal takeover.

In August 2023, Trump even slammed the capital city in a post on Truth Social. He labelled Washington DC “a filthy and crime ridden embarrassment to the nation”, a rhetoric that has significantly ramped up since. The August 3rd attack on Edward Coristine, a young DOGE staffer injured in an attempted carjacking, seems to be all he needed to make the declaration on Monday.

Violent crime rates, particularly homicide and car jacking, legitimately spiked in 2023, turning Washington into one of the nation’s deadliest cities. But data shows that those numbers were down 35% in 2024 on the back of a new public safety bill and a concerted MPD crackdown. The crime rates are down an additional 26% in the first seven months of 2025.

Democratic mayor of Washington, Muriel Bowser, vehemently pushed back on Trump’s claims of unchecked violence. Currently in her third consecutive term as Mayor, Bowser noted that last year violent crime hit its lowest level in more than three decades. A marked improvement from the late 1990s when D.C. regularly led the nation in per-capita homicides.

But Trump has stood firm.

According to an AP report, about 500 federal law enforcement officers are being deployed throughout the nation’s capital as part of Trump’s effort to combat crime. Additionally, more than 100 FBI agents and about 40 agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are among federal personnel being assigned to patrols in Washington. The Drug Enforcement Administration, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Marshals Service will be contributing officers.

The US Army has said that the National Guard troops would carry out a number of tasks, including “administrative, logistics and physical presence in support of law enforcement”. Between 100 to 200 of the troops would be deployed at any given time.

Additionally, Trump has vowed to remove homeless encampments.

In the runup to Monday’s announcement, Trump ordered the homeless on Truth Social to “move out immediately” and that they would be given places to stay but “far away from the capital city”.

The US President seemingly blames them not only for the uptick in crime but also for taking over Washington’s “beautiful, beautiful parks”. He believes they are making them “very, very dirty” thus preventing people from enjoying said beautiful parks. Trump’s announcement however made no mention on how or where homeless people would be moved.

For context - the federal government owns much of Washington’s parkland. Meaning the Trump administration has legal authority to clear homeless encampments in those areas, just like President Joe Biden did while he was in office.

Data from Community Partnership, an organisation that works to reduce homelessness in Washington DC, shows that on any given night there are 3,782 single persons and 1,356 adults and children who are experiencing homelessness. Of these, 798 are considered to be on the street, with 3,275 persons in Emergency Shelters, and 1,065 persons in Transitional Housing facilities.

Are Trump’s actions legal?

It’s a bit of a grey area, but largely, yes.

The District of Columbia operates under the aforementioned Home Rule Act. This gives Congress ultimate authority but allows residents to elect a mayor and city council.

By invoking section 740 of the Act Trump was able to take over the police force for 30 days on account of the “emergency” conditions. He could get an extension if the Senate and the House of Representatives enact into law a joint resolution authorising such an extension.

Trump, though, is said to be looking at the bigger picture. Trump has repeatedly suggested the rule of Washington could be returned to federal authorities. This would require a repeal of the 1973 Home Rule Act in Congress, a step Trump said lawyers are examining.

Worryingly for Washington residents, it could very well happen. Currently, Republicans control both Houses of the US Congress. But such a vote would likely test the strength of the three-seat GOP majority in the House of Representatives.

Is Trump simply going after Democrat strongholds?

Remember, Washington DC is the second Democratically governed city where the Republican President has deployed troops this summer.

Trump in June took the unprecedented step of calling up thousands of National Guard troops to LA and deployed a battalion of hundreds of marines to “assist” law enforcement in LA to quell protests against ICE’s crackdowns on immigrants.

Californian Governor Gavin Newsom had slammed Trump on X and called the troop deployment a “deranged fantasy of a dictatorial President”. Moreover, a federal trial began on Monday in San Francisco on whether Trump violated US law by deploying National Guard troops to LA without Newsom’s approval.

But rather than cower, the US President doubled down. Trump speaking to reporters at the White House signalled that other major US cities with Democratic leadership, like New York and Chicago, could be next.