WASHINGTON – On Thursday night, the White House announced plans to increase federal law enforcement presence in the nation’s capital to address crime, following President Donald Trump’s indications that his administration might assume full control of the city’s administration.
“Washington, DC is an incredible city, but it has been burdened by violent crime for too long,” said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt in a statement. “President Trump has ordered an enhanced presence of federal law enforcement to safeguard innocent citizens.”
She added that the increased federal presence means “there will be no safe harbor for violent criminals in D.C.”
Trump has frequently suggested that federal authorities might reclaim control of Washington. Reverting control to federal authorities would necessitate repealing the Home Rule Act of 1973 in Congress, a move that Trump mentioned is under legal review — though it may encounter considerable opposition.
“We have a capital that’s very unsafe,” Trump told reporters at the White House this week. “We have to run D.C.”
The White House stated that the increased law enforcement would “make D.C. safe again” and will be deployed on the streets starting at midnight—led by the U.S. Park Police following an 11 p.m. Thursday roll call at a designated command center.
This initiative will continue for the next seven days, with the possibility of extension “as needed,” under the authority of Trump’s earlier executive order forming the Making DC Safe and Beautiful Task Force. The additional federal officials will be identified, operating in marked units and being highly visible, according to the White House.
The participating law enforcement agencies include personnel from the U.S. Capitol Police, Homeland Security Investigations, the Federal Protective Service, the Drug Enforcement Administration, Enforcement and Removal Operations, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the U.S. Marshals Service, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
The police forces for Amtrak and the city’s Metro rail service are also involved.
Trump has long suggested crime and violence is on the rise in Washington, and has lately begun to criticize things like litter and graffiti. But the catalyst for the order to increase police presence was the assault last weekend on a high-profile member of the Department of Government Efficiency by a group of teenagers in an attempted carjacking.
The victim, Edward Coristine, nicknamed “Big Balls,” was among the most visible figures of DOGE, which was tasked with cutting jobs and slashing the federal bureaucracy. Police arrested two 15-year-olds and say they’re still looking for other members of the group.
“If D.C. doesn’t get its act together, and quickly, we will have no choice but to take Federal control of the City, and run this City how it should be run, and put criminals on notice that they’re not going to get away with it anymore,” Trump posted on Truth Social earlier this week.
The president subsequently said he was considering repealing Washington’s limited Home Rule autonomy or “bringing in the National Guard, maybe very quickly.”
Thursday’s announcement comes as Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser’s government can claim to have reduced the number of homicides and carjackings — both of which spiked citywide in 2023.
Carjackings in Washington overall dropped significantly the following year in 2024, from 957 to just under 500, and the number is on track to decline again this year — with less than 200 recorded so far more than halfway through 2025.
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