Trump to lay out his plan for reducing crime in nation's capital

Hadriana Lowenkron, Bloomberg News on Aug 9, 2025

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President Donald Trump said he will lay out his administration’s plan to reduce crime in the nation’s capital, even as violent incidents in the District of Columbia are at a 30-year low.

Trump said in a social media post that he will have a news conference on Monday that “will, essentially, stop violent crime in Washington, DC.”

Trump on Thursday directed an increased presence of federal law enforcement around Washington, D.C., a day after threatening the federal government could seize control of it. That move came a day after a former member of his so-called Department of Government Efficiency was injured during an attempted carjacking in D.C. The city, which has voted overwhelmingly for Democrats for decades, has also been seeking to end all federal control of the city, a movement known as “home rule.”

Violence has been dropping in the District for two years, according to local police data. As of Jan. 3, violent crime in D.C. in 2024 was at a 30-year low, according to the U.S. Justice Department.

Trump’s powers to “take over” the capital city are limited.

Partial home rule was established by Congress in 1973, which allows residents to elect their own mayor, who appoints the police chief. Residents also elect a District council that can pass local laws. But those laws can be overturned by Congress, which approves the city’s budget.

Trump can’t override the home rule law without Congress, but he can assign federal agents to conduct law enforcement operations inside the city and has done so before, acting independently of the Metropolitan Police Department. He has also said that he is considering deploying the National Guard in the city.

The president has often, without evidence, cast cities around the country as crime-ridden, and has increased those complaints about D.C. since the former staffer was attacked.

Trump said on his Truth Social platform earlier this week that he wants to “federalize” the city if local officials don’t do more to address crime.

Trump has issued executive orders this year that created a panel to coordinate efforts to improve safety and address graffiti and vandalism in the city, along with one that ordered a crackdown on homeless encampments on federal lands.

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(With assistance from Chris Strohm.)