President Donald Trump said he is placing the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, D.C., under federal control as of Monday morning, in an effort to “make our capital great again.”
“This is liberation day in D.C. and we’re going to take our capital back. We’re taking it back,” he told reporters at The White House. “Under the authorities vested in me as the president of the United States, I’m officially invoking section 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act — you know what that is — and placing the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department under direct federal control.”
Trump continued, “You’ll be meeting the people who will be directly involved with that. Very good people, but they’re tough and they know what’s happening. They’ve done it before.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi will now oversee the District of Columbia police department. Together, they intend to deploy the National Guard in a reported effort to battle homelessness and crime.
“Washington, D.C., will be LIBERATED today! Crime, Savagery, Filth and Scum will DISAPPEAR. I will, MAKE OUR CAPITAL GREAT AGAIN!” Trump added on Truth Social before his address. “The days of ruthlessly killing, or hurting, innocent people, are OVER! I quickly fixed the Border (ZERO ILLEGALS in last three months!), D.C. is next!!! Thank you for your attention to this matter.”
However, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser previously defended the capital on Sunday, saying, “We’re going to keep talking to the president, working with his people on the issues that are high priority for him. Now, if the priority is to show force in an American city, we know he can do that here. But it won’t be because there’s a spike in crime.”
“Any comparison to a war-torn country is hyperbolic and false,” she also noted.
Trump’s move echoes his similar tactics when deploying the National Guard to Los Angeles back in June and July amid ICE protests, much to the disapproval of California Gov. Gavin Newsom and L.A. Mayor Karen Bass.
