Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser delivered a sharp rebuke Monday, Aug. 11, after President Donald Trump temporarily placed the city’s police department under federal control and ordered the deployment of the National Guard on the streets of the nation’s capital.
The unprecedented move, taken over the objections of local officials, comes after Trump declared a public safety emergency and invoked Section 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, a provision allowing the president to commandeer D.C.’s police force during “conditions of an emergency nature.”
Trump announced that Attorney General Pam Bondi will oversee the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), asserting that violent crime in the city is “out of control” and requires direct federal intervention. The decision has triggered concerns from D.C. leaders, who argue that crime has been falling sharply and that the president is overstating the problem.
At a press conference hours later, Bowser painted a starkly different picture, touting a 30-year low in violent crime and significant decreases in shootings and homicides compared to pre-pandemic levels.
While acknowledging that the Home Rule Act grants the president unusual authority in the District — powers that do not apply to any U.S. state — she stressed that MPD Chief Pamela Smith remains in command of the city’s 3,100 officers.
“We will follow the law,” Bowser said, “but let me be clear… Chief Pamela Smith is the chief of the Metropolitan Police Department, and its members work under her direction.”
When asked about Trump’s suggestion that he might deploy active-duty military troops to the capital, Bowser was blunt: “I think I speak for all Americans, we don’t believe it is legal to use the American military against American citizens on American soil.”
She warned that such a move would be “a question” for constitutional lawyers but said she opposes any use of military forces for domestic law enforcement.
Bowser, who has at times clashed with Trump during his presidency but adopted a more cooperative tone in recent months, acknowledged that the president’s broad emergency powers in D.C. leave the city little legal recourse to block his actions. She called the federal takeover an “intrusion on our autonomy” and urged renewed debate over D.C. statehood to prevent similar interventions in the future.
Chief Smith echoed the mayor’s commitment to cooperate while explaining that MPD will continue to prioritize local public safety strategies, including warrant executions, targeted patrols in nightlife areas, and enforcement in designated juvenile curfew zones.
She said the federal presence would result in “an enhanced presence” but not a change in the department’s commitment to community policing.
For now, the emergency order is limited to 30 days, though Trump has suggested it could be extended.
Bowser pledged to “work every day to get this so-called emergency put to an end” and to ensure federal resources are used strategically — without undermining public trust in local law enforcement.
