Why Trump’s takeover of D.C.’s police marks a historic clash over local control and crime politics

Why Trump’s takeover of D.C.’s police marks a historic clash over local control and crime politics

US President Donald Trump stood alongside his defence secretary and attorney general on Monday to announce that he would deploy National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., and take direct control of the city’s police force. While making the announcement, he also slipped into the role of an unlikely city promoter, promising tourists safer streets and spruced-up infrastructure, from repaired medians to pothole-free roads, the New York Times reported.

A controversial first step

Although Trump has previously sent the National Guard to cities — including Los Angeles earlier this year and the capital in 2020 — this marks the first time he has moved to directly run a local police department. The president dismissed the complexity of the task, declaring, “If you’re competent, it’s easy,” even as the city’s violent crime rate is at its lowest in decades.

Pushback from mayors

Experienced city leaders were quick to counter Trump’s remarks. Tampa’s Democratic mayor, Jane Castor, a former police chief, said that crime reduction requires building community trust, not just increasing patrol numbers. Birmingham’s Democratic mayor, Randall Woodfin, credited his city’s 50 percent drop in homicides to a multifaceted approach involving law enforcement and youth intervention programmes — a process he described as “far from easy.”

Trump’s long history with crime politics

Trump’s focus on urban crime is not new. Since the late 1980s, he has used high-profile incidents to call for tough policing, including the infamous Central Park case, in which the accused were later exonerated. As president, he backed hard-line responses to Black Lives Matter protests, even tweeting, “When the looting starts, the shooting starts.” But his relationship with law enforcement has been inconsistent — most notably when he remained silent during the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack and later pardoned participants convicted of assaulting police.

D.C.’s limited power to resist

Mayor Muriel Bowser called Trump’s actions “unsettling” but acknowledged that the 1973 Home Rule Act allows presidents to take over local policing during a declared emergency for up to 30 days. Residents’ frustration over the city’s lack of congressional representation resurfaced, as did concerns about their longtime delegate, Eleanor Holmes Norton. Once a prominent advocate for the capital, Norton, now 88, has faced questions about her political future amid signs of diminished influence.

Immigration politics cross the aisle

In a separate political moment over the weekend, Senator Ruben Gallego of Arizona, a Democrat and son of immigrants, surprised supporters in Iowa by praising one of Trump’s immigration policies — tightening border security to reduce illegal crossings. While opposing the administration’s deportation tactics and family separations, Gallego argued that working-class and Hispanic voters had supported Trump in part because they felt border issues were ignored under previous Democratic policies. His comments highlighted the delicate balance Democrats face in addressing immigration while countering Trump’s broader agenda.