They usually investigate drug lords, weapons traffickers, or cybercriminals. But this week, federal agents are incited across capitals across the nation as president. Donald Trump’s effort Crimes In the city.
The occasional masked agents joined National Guard members and the U.S. Park Police.
Fatigue soldiers continued to monitor near Union Station, while Drug Enforcement Officers patrolled along the National Mall. Agents from the Alcohol Department, cigarettes, firearms and explosives illegally parked couples in northwestern Washington and helped them question couples eating McDonald’s takeaway.
Trump said Monday that he has taken over the Washington police department in hopes of reducing crime, despite city officials highlighting that crime is already declining. The District of Columbia’s status as a federal district in which Congress was established allows the President to take control, but is limited to 30 days under the statute, unless approved by Congress.
Here is a list of federal agencies involved here, as well as what they normally do, within the Metropolitan Police Department, or the acquisition of MPD.
National Guard
This week: The Pentagon said 800 security guards have been revitalized for missions in Washington, including monument security, community safety patrols and beautifying efforts. Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson The army said it would not be armed. They refused to provide more details about what safety patrols and beautifying efforts entail. The White House said Thursday that members of the security guard “protect federal assets, provide a safe environment for law enforcement officials to arrest, and thwart violent crimes with the presence of visible law enforcement.”
Backstory: The National Guard, according to its website, functions as a major combat sanctuary for the Army and Air Force. But it also responds when “disasters occur in your hometown” to protect the lives and property of your community.
District of Columbia National Guard soldiers are monitoring their arrival at the entrance to Union Station near the Capitol in Washington on Thursday, August 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)
Drug Enforcement Bureau (DEA)
This week: DEA agents are also incited across Washington, working with police on traffic stops and other enforcement efforts. The agency touted this week as helping the agent recover guns and drugs.
Backstory: Institutions usually implement the country’s controlled substance laws and regulations, whilst chasing drug cartels, gangs and human traffickers in the US and abroad. For example, a DEA-led investigation recorded a record-breaking seizure of fentanyl in May, and “dismantling one of the largest and most dangerous drug trafficking groups in US history,” the agency said in a news release. DEA works too Less well-known lab Northern Virginia is working to analyze seized drugs to find a way to stop supply. The chemist has identified the ever-evolving tactics cartels employ to manufacture drugs that flow to the US.
Women and children are watching officers patrolling the Drug Enforcement Administration along the National Mall in Washington on Wednesday, August 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Homeland Security Survey (HSI)
This week: Homeland Security Investigation agents, the Department of Homeland Security’s research arm, were able to watch alongside MPD officers on Wednesday as they conducted traffic checks at checkpoints along 14th Avenue in northwest Washington.
Backstory: HSI investigates a wide range of crimes worldwide, at home, abroad and online in hundreds of offices nationwide and abroad. These crimes include “illicit movements of people, goods, money, contraband, weapons, and sensitive technology, through the United States, and through its website. In the past few months, HSI agents have raided and raided as the Trump administration has stepped up immigration enforcement efforts across the United States. I’m involved in immigrant arrest at courts and other sites nationwide. HSI agents investigate a huge number of crimes, including cyber and financial crimes and intellectual property crimes.
Homeland Security investigative agents will join officers of Washington Metropolitan Police Department in Washington on Wednesday, August 13, 2025 at a checkpoint along 14th Avenue in northwest Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
US Park Police
This Week: The U.S. Parks Police are helping to stop traffic in the district this week, and are a regular presence in Washington. The DC Federal Agency was actually founded in 1791 by George Washington.
Backstory: Police are part of the National Park Service and have jurisdiction over all federal parks, with offices in Washington, New York and San Francisco, according to the agency’s website. Prior to this week’s takeover, he was already authorized to arrest him in the District of Columbia.
The family will be sitting on a bench at Franklin Park in downtown Washington on Thursday, August 14th, 2025 as a Washington Metropolitan Police Patrol.
Alcohol Bureau, cigarettes, firearms, explosives (ATF)
This week: ATF agents have helped with traffic stops.
Backstory: Agency focuses primarily on Illegal use of guns and explosivesbombing and terrorist acts, and trafficking of illegal liquor or contraband.
Agents from various agencies, including the Alcohol Bureau, cigarettes, firearms, explosives, Park Police and the FBI, ask questions to couples who were parked outside of legal parking on Tuesday, August 12, 2025, while eating a McDonald’s takeaway in northwestern Washington, near Kennedy St. NW. The couple was released after searching the car. (AP Photo/Jaclyn Martin)
