Trump Invokes Home Rule Act to Seize Control of D.C. Police, Deploys National Guard

President Donald Trump has announced he is invoking the District of Columbia Home Rule Act to place the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department under direct federal control — a rare and highly contentious move.

Alongside this, Trump ordered National Guard troops into Washington, D.C., to “re-establish law, order, and public safety,” saying they would operate without restrictions. “Our capital city has been overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals,” he told reporters at the White House, flanked by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Attorney General Pam Bondi. Bondi will oversee the federal takeover of the city’s police.

Role of the National Guard
The Guard will handle logistics, transportation, and support duties, freeing local police to focus on arrests. The approach mirrors Trump’s earlier deployment in Los Angeles to aid immigration raids — a move that defied California Governor Gavin Newsom and sparked protests.

Trump’s authority to take control of the police comes from emergency powers in the decades-old Home Rule Act, which otherwise grants D.C.’s 700,000 residents the ability to elect a mayor and city council. The combined federal effort will target both violent crime and homelessness.

A Step in Trump’s Crime Crackdown
“You want to feel safe when you walk out of your home and into a store,” Trump said, promising to restore security to the capital. His announcement follows earlier vows to address homelessness and crime in D.C., which had prompted the city’s mayor to warn against a National Guard presence.

In recent days, hundreds of federal officers from agencies including the FBI, ICE, DEA, and ATF have already been deployed across the city. Ahead of the announcement, Trump posted on social media that Washington would be “LIBERATED today,” pledging to end “the days of ruthlessly killing, or hurting, innocent people.”

The move marks the latest escalation in Trump’s law-and-order agenda, following his hardline stance on illegal border crossings.