Today's News: National Guard Troops Arrive in Washington D.C
This unprecedented move sparked significant pushback from D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and other local officials, who disputed the president’s characterization of the city’s crime rates.
Photo: Salwan Georges/The Washington Post
Overview
Date: August 11-12, 2025
Topic: Federal Intervention in Washington, D.C.: Police Takeover and National Guard Deployment
Summary: President Donald Trump ordered a federal takeover of the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police Department and deployed approximately 800 National Guard troops to the city. Citing D.C. as a “crime-ridden embarrassment” needing “liberation” due to “crime, bloodshed, bedlam, and squalor,” Trump’s administration aimed to address perceived rampant crime and homelessness. This unprecedented move for modern history sparked significant pushback from D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and other local officials, who disputed the president’s characterization of the city’s crime rates, which they state have fallen to a 30-year low. The action is seen by some as part of a broader expansion of military power on U.S. soil.
Sources
The New York Times - For D.C., Threats of a Federal Takeover Were Familiar. Now They Are a Reality.
NBC News - National Guard troops arrive in D.C. to execute Trump’s order to address crime
The Washington Post - Inside Trump’s decision to deploy the National Guard in D.C.
The Washington Post - Pentagon plan would create military ‘reaction force’ for civil unrest
The Wall Street Journal - How Trump Is Expanding the Role of the American Military on U.S. Soil
CNN - Trump administration latest: National Guard being deployed to DC, Putin meeting in the works
Key Points
President Trump issued an executive order to federalize the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police Department and deploy approximately 800 National Guard troops, citing a need to address crime, homelessness, and restore “law and order” in the nation’s capital.
Washington, D.C., has a unique status under federal law, granting it limited self-governance under the Home Rule Act of 1973, which leaves key criminal justice roles in federal hands and allows the president to deploy the National Guard or take over local police without local government consent during an emergency.
The intervention is framed by the Trump administration as a response to a crime crisis, despite D.C. officials and local data indicating a significant decline in violent crime.
The federal takeover and troop deployment are widely viewed by D.C. officials and some legal experts as an unprecedented and heavy-handed exercise of executive power, raising concerns about the normalization of military involvement in domestic law enforcement.
The action is part of a broader pattern of the Trump administration expanding the use of military and federal assets for domestic purposes, including deploying troops to the Southern U.S. border and Los Angeles, and utilizing military bases for migrant detention.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and Police Chief Pamela Smith expressed a commitment to working with federal partners while emphasizing the city’s progress on crime reduction and seeking to minimize the perceived impact on the police department’s organizational structure.
Unique Highlights
The New York Times highlights Mayor Bowser’s strategic concessions to Trump, such as ordering the removal of the Black Lives Matter mural, to navigate the city through a “perilous era.” It also references the 1995 financial control board as a previous significant encroachment on D.C.’s autonomy, contrasting it with the current lack of a clear emergency.
NBC News provides specific details on the National Guard deployment, stating troops were notified they would be deployed until September 25. It includes the perspective of Greggory Pemberton, chairman of the D.C. Police Union, who supports the federal assistance as a “short-term, stop-gap measure” but expresses concern about long-term impact without deeper changes like addressing staffing shortages and City Council laws.
Fox News connects the D.C. intervention to a broader national narrative on urban crime by focusing on Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner and his challenger, Patrick Dugan, suggesting Trump’s actions in D.C. are part of a larger push against progressive prosecutors. It mentions the 48-hour statutory limit for presidential control under the Home Rule Act.
The Washington Post (Inside Trump’s decision to deploy the National Guard in D.C.) reveals that Trump had an “informal playbook” for taking control of D.C. even before taking office. It identifies an attempted carjacking of Edward Coristine, a protégé of Elon Musk and former U.S. DOGE Service staffer, as a specific trigger for Trump’s renewed focus on D.C. crime. The article also lists other high-profile incidents cited by Trump, including the killing of a congressional intern and attacks on a Rand Paul staffer and a 3-year-old girl.
The Washington Post (Pentagon plan would create military ‘reaction force’ for civil unrest) uniquely reports on internal Pentagon documents outlining a proposal for a permanent “Domestic Civil Disturbance Quick Reaction Force” of 600 National Guard troops, stationed in Alabama and Arizona, ready for rapid deployment for civil unrest. It details potential costs, legal scholars' apprehension about normalizing military involvement, and internal Pentagon concerns about personnel burnout, training disruptions, and budgetary strains from such a program.
The Wall Street Journal emphasizes that the D.C. deployment is Trump’s “boldest move to date to expand the use of military power on U.S. soil.” It notes a concurrent federal trial in San Francisco challenging Trump’s federalization of California state National Guard units and mentions former Chief of Staff John Kelly’s past efforts to dissuade Trump from using the military domestically. The article also provides details on the Posse Comitatus Act and the limited role of the 100-200 soldiers in D.C. (no direct contact with civilians).
CNN provides statements from White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, detailing plans to dismantle homeless encampments with potential “fines or jail time” for non-compliance and exploring moving homeless people “FAR from the Capital.” It also highlights a direct contradiction regarding who is “in charge” of the MPD, with Leavitt stating DEA head Terry Cole is “in charge” while Chief Pamela Smith asserted, “I answer to Mayor Muriel Bowser.” CNN also provides FBI crime database comparisons, showing D.C. ranks 10th in overall crime rates and 17th in violent crime rates among large U.S. cities, contradicting Trump’s portrayal.
Contrasting Details
Crime Rates and Justification: President Trump and the White House frequently described D.C. as a city of “crime, bloodshed, bedlam and squalor” (The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal), suggesting a crisis. However, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser stated that violent crime had fallen to a 30-year low and overall crime was down from 2023 and 2019 (NBC News, The New York Times). Metropolitan Police Department statistics cited by NBC News show a 26% decrease in violent crime over the last year, and CNN’s analysis of FBI data ranks D.C. 10th in overall crime and 17th in violent crime among large U.S. cities, contradicting the administration’s “crisis” narrative.
Control and Leadership of MPD: The White House, through press secretary Karoline Leavitt, stated that DEA Administrator Terry Cole was “functionally ‘in charge’” of the Metropolitan Police Department during the federal takeover (CNN). However, D.C. Police Chief Pamela Smith directly countered this, stating, “I answer to Mayor Muriel Bowser,” and Mayor Bowser affirmed that the department’s “organizational chart, how we do business… none of that has changed” (NBC News, CNN).
National Guard Role: A White House official stated the National Guard would “deter violent crime with a visible law enforcement presence” (NBC News). However, D.C.’s Deputy Mayor for Public Safety and Justice, Lindsey Appiah, clarified that National Guard troops would not be making arrests in the city (NBC News). An Army statement further clarified that only 100-200 soldiers would support law enforcement at any given time and “wouldn’t come in direct contact with civilians” (The Wall Street Journal).
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