(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Donald Trump has deployed military and federal law enforcement to curb violent crime in Washington, as he seeks to make good on his campaign pledge to be a "law and order" president.
The Republican leader said he would place the city's Metropolitan Police under federal government control while also sending the National Guard onto the streets of the US capital.
The overwhelmingly Democratic city faces allegations from Republican politicians that it is overrun by crime, plagued by homelessness and financially mismanaged – although violent offences are down.
"This is Liberation Day in DC, and we're going to take our capital back," Trump said.
Trump – a convicted felon who granted blanket clemency to nearly 1,600 people involved in the 2021 US Capitol riot in Washington – has complained that local police and prosecutors are not tough enough.
He said that 800 DC National Guardsmen – "and much more if necessary" – would be deployed to the city of 700,000.
The president cast his actions as necessary to "rescue" Washington from what he described as a wave of lawlessness.
"I'm deploying the National Guard to help reestablish law, order and public safety in Washington, DC," Trump told a news conference at the White House. "Our capital city has been overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals."
It is the second time this summer that the Republican president has deployed troops to a Democratically governed city.
Trump sent thousands of National Guard troops to Los Angeles in June over the objections of state and local officials.
As Trump was speaking at the White House, several dozen demonstrators gathered outside.
"There is absolutely no need for the National Guard here," said 62-year-old retiree Elizabeth Critchley, who brandished a sign with the slogan "DC says freedom not fascism”.
"It's all for show. It's just a big theater," she said.
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, who was among several cabinet officials flanking Trump, said "other specialised" National Guard units could also be deployed.
"They will be strong, they will be tough, and they will stand with their law enforcement partners," he said.
The new approach echoes Trump's immigration policies that have effectively sealed the southern border amid mass deportations while deploying active-duty troops against protesters in Los Angeles.
The president told reporters that he planned to roll out the policy to other cities.
"If we need to, we're going to do the same thing in Chicago, which is a disaster," Trump said at the White House, adding: "Hopefully LA is watching."
Unlike the 50 states, Washington operates under a unique relationship with the federal government that limits its autonomy and grants Congress extraordinary control over local matters.
Since the mid-1970s, the Home Rule Act has allowed residents to elect a mayor and a city council, although Congress still controls the city's budget.
Data from Washington police show significant drops in violent crime between 2023 and 2024, although that was coming off the back of a post-pandemic surge.
Trump posted on social media ahead of the news conference that he also wants to tackle homeless encampments, after signing an order last month making it easier to arrest homeless people.
He promised individuals "places to stay", but "FAR from the Capital".
Trump said criminals would be jailed and that it would all happen "very fast”.
Federal law enforcement have already increased their presence after a former Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) staffer was beaten during an attempted carjacking.
A Gallup poll in October found that 64% of Americans believed crime had risen in 2024, although Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) data shows the lowest levels of violent crime nationwide in more than half a century.
"Let me be crystal clear – crime in DC is ending, and it's ending today," said Attorney-General Pam Bondi.
Meanwhile, a federal trial was set to begin this week in San Francisco on whether Trump's administration violated US law by deploying 5,000 National Guard troops and US Marines without the approval of Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom.
The troops were sent in response to protests over raids by federal immigration agents.
State and local officials objected to Trump's decision as unnecessary, unlawful and inflammatory.
In a post on X, Newsom wrote: "Washington, DC – here's what you can expect now that the president wants to cosplay as dictator in your city, too: Soldiers sitting around with nothing to do; Lies from all levels of the federal government; No meaningful impact."

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