President Donald Trump used a template for his takeover of DC policing that’s worked for him before: Move quickly, establish a large and visible security presence — then wait for Democrats to splinter over how to respond.
Democrats in Congress denounced the 30-day mobilization inside the capital, which Trump previewed during the 2024 election, as an “unjustified power grab” and vowed to block an extension. The city’s elected attorney general called it an “unlawful” abuse of emergency powers to lower crime rates that the administration itself said had fallen.
But DC Mayor Muriel Bowser was more cautious, criticizing Trump’s takeover as “authoritarian” while also suggesting that the city could work with him. “What I’m focused on is the federal surge and how to make the most of the additional officer support that we have,” the mayor told reporters on Tuesday, after meeting with Attorney General Pam Bondi.
Hours later, in a video “conversation with community leaders,” Bowser said that the intervention was legal; the president had invoked “a part of the charter that he has the prerogative to invoke.” She acknowledged the city had longstanding problems, like illegal gun trafficking and violence in nightlife areas, and said the federal government could now help with them.
