National Guard troops started appearing in Washington DC on Tuesday night following President Donald Trump’s unprecedented federal takeover of the city’s police force, a move condemned by critics as an authoritarian power grab. The deployment comes despite DC’s violent crime rate being at a 30-year low.
Approximately 800 National Guard members began mobilizing in the nation’s capital after Trump declared a ‘crime emergency’ on Monday, citing unsubstantiated claims of lawlessness. The president simultaneously placed DC’s Metropolitan Police Department under direct federal control, leveraging unique constitutional provisions that grant the federal government greater authority over the capital than other cities.
DC Mayor Muriel Bowser adopted a conciliatory stance, stating she would work ‘side by side’ with federal authorities to utilize the additional law enforcement resources. However, she clarified her expectation that troops would primarily deploy on federal properties like monuments and government buildings. The White House reported an initial ‘surge’ of 850 federal officers made 23 arrests and seized six illegal handguns during Monday night operations.
The move has drawn fierce criticism from Democratic leaders nationwide who view it as a dangerous precedent. Mayors of Chicago, Baltimore, Los Angeles, and Oakland—all cities Trump mentioned as potential future targets—vehemently opposed any similar federal intervention in their jurisdictions. Notably, all five cities named by Trump are led by Black mayors, raising concerns about racial targeting.
White House officials defended the action, with press secretary Karoline Leavitt promising a month-long crackdown on ‘every violent criminal’ and announcing strict enforcement against homelessness. Deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller escalated rhetoric by claiming without evidence that ‘crime stats in blue cities are fake’ and accusing Democrats of ‘trying to unravel civilization’.
Legal experts and local officials expressed alarm about the erosion of DC’s limited autonomy, with Councilmember Christina Henderson warning the district is being used as a ‘petri dish’ for federal overreach. Governors Gavin Newsom (California) and JB Pritzker (Illinois) pledged resistance to any attempted military deployments in their states, with Pritzker drawing parallels to 1930s Germany.
The administration plans to intensify operations over the coming weeks, with additional National Guard personnel expected to arrive. Meanwhile, Democratic leaders are exploring legal and legislative challenges to what they characterize as an unconstitutional seizure of local law enforcement authority. The confrontation sets the stage for prolonged battles over states’ rights and federal power.
