'Too much crime, homelessness ...': Why has Donald Trump called for takeover of governance of Washington DC

US President Donald Trump (Courtesy: Reuters photo)

US President Donald Trump has expressed his support for a federal government takeover of Washington, D.C. and said that the local government is not doing the job well.

"I like the mayor (District of Columbia's Muriel Bowser), I get along great with the mayor. They're not doing the job - too much crime, homeless people all over, too much graffiti," he said.

Trump said that he doesn't want foreign heads of state or government to see homelessness on their visits to Washington. "It's a sad thing, homeless people all over the place, we've gotta take care of the homeless ... When they come to see me - like Macron is coming, the UK PM is coming. We'll have President Xi, we'ss have everybody ... You can't have tents all over your beautiful, once magnificent houses and lawns, you just can't do it," he told reporters while aboard Air Force One.

Throwing his weight behind congressional efforts for a federal takeover of the nation's capital, the Republican President said, "I think that we should govern the District of Columbia ... I think that we should run it strong, run it with law and order, make it absolutely flawless ... And I think we should take over Washington, D.C.".

Republicans have in recent years sought to overturn home rule for the District of Columbia, a Democratic stronghold.

Under terms of the city's Home Rule authority, Congress already vets all D.C. laws and can outright overturn them. Some congressional Republicans have sought to go further, eroding decades of the city's limited autonomy and putting it back under direct federal control, as it was at its founding.

Republican lawmakers introduced a bill two weeks ago that would eliminate the District of Columbia's local government, including the elected mayor and city council. It would also enable Congress to legislate for its 700,000 people, 44% of whom are African American.

The bill has been named the Bowser Act in reference to the Black mayor of D.C., Muriel Bowser. Similar legislation in 2023 failed to pass and remains unlikely to pass under Senate rules.