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President Trump is making Washington, D.C. great again! To crack down on crime and clean up the streets, the 47th president announced a whole-of-government effort to get the job done, including the deployment of the National Guard.
Flanked by various Cabinet members, department heads, and the Army Secretary, Trump declared, “I’m announcing a historic action to rescue our nation’s capital from crime, bloodshed, bedlam, and squalor, and worse. This is Liberation Day in D.C., and we’re going to take our capital back.”
He continued, “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 … and placing the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department under direct federal control.”
He told reporters that Attorney General Pam Bondi will directly oversee the police department.
Trump remarked on the exorbitant increase in crime in the nation’s capital city, and listed global crime statistics to show how Washington D.C. had surpassed some of the World’s most dangerous cities’ murder rates, including Mexico City.
The President then recalled various heinous criminal acts in the city, including the violent assault on a former DOGE employee who now works for the Social Security Administration (SSA), the carjacking of Texas Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar, the shooting of a young congressional intern, the assault of one of Kentucky Senator Rand Paul’s staffers and the murder of a former Trump administration official.
Trump also made clear that his administration would be working to eliminate the city’s “no cash bail” statute.
Trump recounted a violent incident over the weekend in the Navy Yard, where the perpetrators fought back against the police officers. “See, they fight back until you knock the hell out of them because it’s the only language they understand … They’re not going to be fighting back for long.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth took to the podium and detailed his department’s role in the effort. “This morning, we’ve mobilized the D.C. National Guard … You will see them flowing into the streets of Washington in the coming week.”
He made clear that President Trump had directed him to prepare for other units to be brought in, including other National Guard units and other specialized units.
