This week, President Donald Trump said he was invoking emergency powers under the Home Rule Act to federalize the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department (DC MPD), and supplemented that by flooding the city with 800 National Guard troops and a surge of federal agents. Flanked by his Attorney General, Secretary of Defense, FBI Director, US Attorney for the District of Columbia, and other officials, the president announced these actions under the pretense of making “DC safe again.” The President insisted that Washington has been “overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals” and vowed to “rescue” the city. At the press conference, he specifically decried youth violence claiming that “caravans of mass youth rampage through city streets at all times of the day.” He also described homelessness as a major problem in the District that needs to be solved. This coming the day after posting on Truth Social earlier that “The Homeless have to move out, IMMEDIATELY. We will give you places to stay, but FAR from the Capital.”
Trump’s Militarized Approach to DC Undercuts What’s Been Working
