President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he's considering a federal takeover of the local police force in Washington, D.C., and that he might bring in the National Guard to help handle crime in the city.
Trump's remarks went further than his threat Tuesday to take federal control of the nation's capital after a well-known original Department of Government Efficiency staffer was assaulted over the weekend.
Asked by a reporter at a White House event Wednesday whether taking over the Metropolitan Police Department is an “option on the table,” Trump said it was.
“We’re considering it. Yeah, because the crime is — is ridiculous,” Trump said before he referred to the former DOGE employee, Edward Coristine, without naming him.
“We have a capital that’s very unsafe, you know, we just almost lost a young man, beautiful, handsome guy that got the hell knocked out of him the night before last," Trump said.
Trump then threatened to bring in the National Guard.
“What a shame, rate of crime, the rate of muggings, killings and everything else, we’re not going to let it, and that includes bringing in the National Guard, maybe very quickly, too,” he said.
A spokesperson for Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, declined to comment on Trump’s remarks.
It wouldn’t be the first time a Trump administration has deployed the National Guard in Washington. After protests in the wake of George Floyd’s murder in 2020, some of which turned violent, National Guard troops were brought in, despite opposition from Bowser.
Two months ago, Trump deployed the National Guard to Los Angeles in a legally contested move amid protests related to the administration's immigration enforcement.
Violent crime in Washington is down 26% so far this year, according to preliminary police department data.
Trump has long expressed a desire to assume control of the Washington government. Washington has a limited ability to self-govern in which its laws and budget are subject to congressional oversight.
Taking over parts of the district would involve a mix of congressional and unilateral actions. For example, Trump could unilaterally assume control of the police, but experts told NBC Washington this year that it would require some “justifying emergency” and that it would most likely be challenged in court.
A full federal takeover of the district would require an act of Congress, in which both the House and the Senate would need to vote to repeal the 1973 Home Rule Act, which grants residents the right to elect their own city government.
Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for Washington, said in an interview with Fox News on Wednesday night that she "totally" supports Trump if he decides to seek a federal takeover of the district.
"It's up to the president," Pirro said. "If that's what we need to do to get it done, that's what he should do. And I support the president."
