WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump takes unprecedented action Federalize Washington, DC. On Monday, he says he also needs to fight crime as a city leader. It refers to data Showing violence is declining.
He commanded the police station and deployed the National Guard under laws and constitutional authority that would allow the federal government to shake more against the country’s capital than other cities. Historically, the majority of black population did not elect city councils or mayors until 1973, when Republican President Richard Nixon signed the Home Rules Act.
The measure still left great power in the President and Congress, but no president had previously exercised police powers.
He revitalized the National Guard
The Constitution requires the creation of the District of Columbia to serve as a federal seat of power under the jurisdiction of Congress rather than any state.
The Home Rules Act allows greater control of the local area, but the president can still call the National Guard in Washington. His administration did that during the Black Life Matter protests in 2020. At that time, the members were later negligent after flying too much helicopter over the crowd. The security guard was called again on January 6, 2021 for Trump’s first term.
Trump’s second season Move to Washington Despite Gov. Gavin Newsom’s objection, the legal battle for the deployment of another democratically driven city, Los Angeles, has begun.
His authority is less clear, but the Court of Appeal has refused to intervene so far. The low court judge had begun trial Monday to determine whether the development violated another federal law.
He took over the police
Section 740 of the Home Rules Act allows the president to take over the metropolitan police station in Washington for 48 hours, with an extension that could potentially be up to 30 days in an emergency. Monica Hopkins, executive director of the ACLU in Washington, said the president never did that.
Trump cited many recent famous incidents, including the murder of a 21-year-old Congressional intern and the be-hitting of a clumsy staff member while attempting carjacking.
“This is DC’s release day and we’re going to get the Capitol back,” the president said.
DC’s Democratic mayor Muriel Bowser called the takeover “unprecedented.” She said that after the 2023 rise, overall violent crime in Washington has declined to its first decline in 30 years. For example, carjacking fell by about 50% in 2024, and this year too. However, more than half of those arrested are juveniles, and the extent of their punishment is the key to the Trump administration’s conflict.
He didn’t specify how long it lasted
It was not immediately clear how long the acquisition would last or what it meant. You could also face challenges in court.
Councils still have power, such as budgets and laws passed by the city council, but they must abolish the Home Rules Act to expand federal power in the district.
That’s what a small number of Republican lawmakers are trying to do, but such an overhaul will almost certainly hit a sudden resistance from most Democrats, making it difficult to achieve.
The law is unique to DC and does not affect other communities around the US being called to have their own “home rules” authority in relations with state governments.
Hopkins said Trump’s move in Washington could foreshadow similar tactics in other cities. “That should be on everyone’s guard,” she said, “not just in Washington.”
