President Trump to Push for Extension of Federal Takeover of Washington, DC Police
Federal law enforcement and national guard troops are patrolling the streets of Washington, DC, in conjunction with local law enforcement as President Trump pushed to extend the federal takeover of the District’s police department beyond the initial 30 days.
The federalization of the police force has a 30 day limit unless Congress acts, and the president said that “we expect to be before Congress very quickly.”
"We're going to need a crime bill that we're going to be putting in and it's going to pertain initially to D.C.," said President Trump while speaking at the Kennedy Center. "We're going to be asking for extensions on that, long-term extensions, because you can't have 30 days."
The president ordered the federal takeover as he declared a public safety emergency, saying the move will rescue the District of Columbia from “crime, bloodshed, bedlam and squalor.”
Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) chief Terry Cole was installed as head of the Metropolitan Police Department, reporting to Attorney General Pam Bondi.
In Washington, agents from numerous agencies are now patrolling the streets. And in Northwest Washington, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and other federal and local officers pulled over drivers at a checkpoint.
The patrols were expanded to 24/7 and have already resulted in more than 100 arrests.
A Balancing Act
Right now, DC officials are trying to walk a fine line between criticizing the president and seeing the benefits of having more law enforcement on the street.
“You’re talking about 500 additional personnel in the District of Columbia,” said DC Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela Smith. “We’re down in numbers with our D.C. police officers. So this enhanced presence is going to impact us in a positive way.”
"What I’m focused on is the federal surge and how to make the most of the additional officer support that we have," said DC Mayor Muriel Bowser after a meeting with Attorney General Bondi.
But the mayor would later denounce the president’s actions as an “authoritarian push.”
Crime Statistics
DC officials are also pushing back against the notion that the District is riddled with crime, citing statistics that show crime in Washington is down so far in 2025 compared to 2024 and 2023, although the number of homicides in 2024 is still higher than pre-pandemic levels.
And policing experts question whether federalization is needed.
“Taking over D.C. local police, it seems like a half-baked idea looking for a problem,” said Donell Harvin, a former homeland security and intelligence chief for Washington, D.C., to MSNBC.