Donald Trump puts D.C. police under federal control, deploys National Guard

President Donald Trump on Monday, August 11, announced that he is placing Washington, D.C.’s police department under federal control and deploying National Guard troops, citing what he described as rampant crime in the US capital.The move, which Trump had previously threatened, was revealed during a White House news conference that was ongoing as of 10:55 am. “This is Liberation Day in D.C., and we’re going to take our capitol back,” Trump said from the White House briefing room.

He said he was exercising his authority under Section 740 of the District’s Home Rule Act, the decades-old law that created the capital’s local government.

The section cited grants the president power to order the D.C. mayor to temporarily cede control of the Metropolitan Police Department if “special conditions of an emergency nature exist.”Under the statute, this emergency authority expires after a maximum of 30 days, unless extended through an act of Congress.

“Crime, Savagery, Filth, and Scum will DISAPPEAR. I will, MAKE OUR CAPITAL GREAT AGAIN!” Trump posted earlier Monday on Truth Social.

In a separate post on Sunday, Trump wrote that “the Homeless” in D.C. would “have to move out, IMMEDIATELY,” while assuring that the government “will give you places to stay, but FAR from the Capital.”