Trump could take control of D.C.'s police force. He's tried before
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President Trump's threat to take over D.C. aside, local Democrats have a more imminent fear: a takeover of the Metropolitan Police Department.
Why it matters: The president, who complains about crime in the nation's capital, can temporarily take control of the city's police department. No congressional bill needed.
Zoom in: Here's how a never-before-used provision would allow POTUS to use D.C. police.
- If the White House believes that "special conditions of an emergency nature exist," the president "may direct" the mayor to provide MPD forces for "federal purposes," per D.C.'s Home Rule Act. And the law states that "the Mayor shall provide" police services "as the President may deem necessary and appropriate."
- In that situation, the president can control MPD for only 48 hours.
But the president can rather easily extend that control for 30 days.
- The president needs to notify certain members of Congress in writing about why and how long control of MPD is likely to last. (They include the top-ranking members of the House and Senate committees, who have oversight over the city, including Rep. James Comer.)
- That control automatically ends after 30 days, unless Congress passes a law extending it.
Between the lines: The law doesn't specify, but its language suggests the 30-day clock may count weekends and holidays.
- One exception: If the president takes control of MPD during an extended congressional break (such as a recess or government shutdown), POTUS would retain control until lawmakers return.
Flashback: Trump considered taking over MPD during the summer 2020 protests, but he backed off after Mayor Muriel Bowser and then-Police Chief Peter Newsham warned that it would risk worsening tensions in the city.
- His second victory has revived fears that Trump would seize MPD, then order it to be heavy-handed on city streets.
The big picture: An MPD takeover would be a dramatic power consolidation. Trump would control more than 3,400 sworn officers. He would also have to own the risk of crime worsening on his watch.
By the numbers: After Trump's threat to federalize D.C., MPD said on X that it drove down crime to its "lowest levels in more than two decades."
- Some of the most violent crimes — homicides and carjackings — saw steep drops last year. There were fewer than 200 homicides for the first time since 2020, and carjackings declined by nearly half after increasing for six straight years. But those two crimes are still above pre-pandemic levels.
- So far this year, violent crime is down 25% compared with the same point in time last year.