Trump announces National Guard activation to tackle Washington crime

President Donald Trump announced Monday that he is activating National Guard troops and is taking over the Metropolitan Police Department to tackle crime in Washington, after beefing up federal law enforcement presence in the nation’s capital Saturday. 

“I’m deploying the National Guard to help reestablish law, order and public safety in Washington, DC,” Trump told reporters at a Monday press conference. “And they’re going to be allowed to do their job properly.”

Trump also said that he would federalize the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington to respond to crime. 

National Guard troops are reserve forces that are mobilized in response to state and federal operations, including natural disasters, and are typically overseen by their respective state governments. However, Trump controversially deployed National Guard troops from California to respond to immigration riots in June, bypassing the California Gov. Gavin Newsom to dispatch the troops. 

The federal government oversees the District of Columbia National Guard. 

Trump’s remarks come just after he promised Washington would be “LIBERATED” from “Crime, Savagery, Filth, and Scum” in a post on Truth Social Monday morning. He said in the post that the “days of ruthlessly killing, or hurting, innocent people, are OVER!” 

Trump floated the idea of taking over Washington’s Metropolitan Police Department and utilizing National Guard troops to manage crime in Washington Wednesday, following the assault of a former Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) staffer on Aug. 3 in Washington’s Logan Circle. 

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“What a shame – rate of crime, the rate of muggings, killings and everything else, we’re not going to let it, and that includes bringing in the National Guard, maybe very quickly, too,” Trump told reporters Wednesday at the White House. 

Trump also told reporters at the time he was open to taking over Washington’s Metropolitan Police Department because crime in the nation’s capital is “ridiculous.” 

While a temporary federal takeover of the Metropolitan Police Department is justified in cases of emergency, Trump’s move will likely be challenged in court over whether the situation in Washington qualifies as an emergency. 

Trump has historically railed against violence in Washington, and said Tuesday that crime is “totally out of control” in the nation’s capital. 

Meanwhile, crime in Washington is on the decline. Violent crime is down 26% this year, in comparison to the same timeframe in 2024, according to Washington’s Metropolitan Police Department. Likewise, assaults with a dangerous weapon are down 20%, and homicides are down by 12%. 

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Washington’s Mayor Muriel Bowser challenged Trump’s description of the city during an interview with MSNBC Sunday, and voiced concerns about the possibility of activating the National Guard to tackle the city’s crime. 

“Any comparison to a war-torn country is hyperbolic and false,” Bowser said.

“I’m concerned about them not being used efficiently, and I just think that’s not the most efficient use of our Guard,” Bowser said. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

This is a breaking news story and will be updated.