Washington (AP) – Some of 800 national security guards Expanded by President Donald Trump It began arriving in the country’s capital on Tuesday, and it surged after the White House ordered federal troops to take over the city’s police station and reduce crime in what the president called a city without law.
The influx came in the morning after Trump announced he would activate security guards and take over the department. He quoted Crime emergency -But it refers to the same crimes that city officials already place significant emphasis. The President has the legal right to make such a move.
As the week unfolds, it’s still unclear. How visible is the federal presence in Washington, how aggressive it is, how it unfolds, who will be targeted, and how long it will last.
On Monday, Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser wrote Trump’s newly announced plans. Take over the metropolitan police station And calling the National Guard was not a productive step. She said she quietly laid out the city’s incidents that were steadily declining crime, and recognized the Trump emergency. Does not match the numbers.
She also fully stated that the hands of the capital were tied and that her administration had little choice but to obey. “We could fight that,” she said of Trump’s definition of crime emergency. “But his authority is quite broad.”
Bowser referred to Trump’s “so-called emergency,” concluded, “I’m going to work every day to make sure it’s not a complete disaster.”
The city and Trump had a bumpy relationship
Trump evokes his plan by saying, “We’re going to regain capital,” but Bowser and the MPD alleges that the overall violent crime in Washington has fallen to a 30-year low after a sharp rise in 2023. For example, carjacking fell by about 50% in 2024, and again this year. However, more than half of those arrested are juveniles, and the extent of their punishment is the key to the Trump administration’s conflict.
A Democrat, Bowser spent most of Trump’s first term openly sparring with the Republican president. She was standing in public opposition as she called for a multi-agency federal law enforcement flood in the summer of 2020 to confront anti-government atrocities protesters. “Black Life Matter” It is drawn in giant yellow letters on the street about a block from the White House.
Bowser has in Trump’s second term, supported by Republican rule in both Houses of Congress Walked the public tightrope For months, he highlighted a common foundation with the Trump administration on issues such as successful efforts to bring NFL commander Washington back to the District of Columbia.
She was worried about the streets of the city as a Trump Finally got his military parade This summer. Her decision Dismantle Black Lives Matter Plaza Earlier this year, the power dynamics between the two executives served as a neat ratio of the amount of evolved.
After months of what many DC officials had quietly hoped, Frup hit entered unknown territory as Trump continued. The new standoff cast Bowser in a sympathetic light, even among her longtime critics.
“It’s a power play and we’re an easy target,” said Clinique Chapman, CEO of DC Justice Lab. Chapman is a frequent critic of Bowser, who has denounced “overly on our youth police” in a recent expansion of Washington youth curfew, and said Trump’s latest move is “not to create a safer DC.”
Where electricity actually exists
Bowser argues that all power exists with Trump and that her administration can do little other than obey and can make the most of it. Washington Native Americans tied the Trump takeover to a bigger state problem for the District of Columbia for the District of Columbia. As long as Washington is a federal enclave with limited autonomy under the Home Rules Act of 1973, she said it remains vulnerable to such acquisitions.
“We know that access to democracy is tens of thousands of people,” Bowser said. “That’s why you heard me. And many of the Washingtonians before me defend the full state of the District of Columbia.”
Section 740 of the Home Rules Act allows the president to take over Washington police for 48 hours, which could be extended to 30 days in an emergency. Monica Hopkins, executive director of the DC branch of the American Civil Liberties Union, said the president never did that.
“That should be on everyone’s guard,” she said, “not just in Washington.”
For Trump, efforts to take over public safety in Washington reflect the escalation of His proactive approach to law enforcement. The District of Columbia’s status as a federal district established in Congress does not propose a solution to his underlying causes, but gives him a unique opportunity to promote his harsh crime agenda. Homeless Or a crime.
“Let me be transparent,” Attorney General Pam Bondy said at a Trump press conference. “D.C. crime is over today and is over.”
Action fits the president’s pattern
Trump’s declaration of emergency fits the general pattern of his second term. Border Protection In Economic Tariffswhich allows him to essentially rule by executive order. Often he made progress while the courts sorted them out.
Bowser’s claims that he successfully reduced violent crime rates were supported by unlikely sources earlier this year. Ed Martin, Trump’s original choice for US lawyers for the District of Columbia, released a press release in April We believe that the violent crime rate is down by 25% From the previous year.
“Thanks to President Trump’s leadership and efforts from the ‘to make DC safe again’ initiative, the district has seen a significant decline in violent crime,” Martin said. “We have proven strong enforcement and smart policies make our communities safer.”
May, Trump I gave up his efforts That Martin is confirmed for the post in the face of opposition in Congress. His alternative candidate, former judge and former Fox News host, Janine Piro, has recently been confirmed. On Monday, Pila standing next to Trump called his takeover “a step that we need now, to make criminals realize they won’t run away anymore.”
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Associated Press Writer Lindsay Whitehurst contributed to this report.
