Trump’s D.C. ‘takeover’: What we know so far — and where we’re headed

It’s only been four days since President Donald Trump made the unprecedented announcement that he was taking control of the Metropolitan Police Department, deploying hundreds of federal law enforcement officers across D.C., and calling out 800 members of the D.C. National Guard – all in service of saving an allegedly crime-ridden city conservatives have been describing as something like Fallujah but with better weather.

And the changes to D.C. are coming thick and fast. Social media is bursting with images and videos of federal agents in tactical gear patrolling Georgetown, setting up traffic stops on 14th Street, and patrolling the border on… Benning Road. The agents appear to be focused on petty crimes like drinking and smoking in public – in one video, a group of officers walks up to a group gathered on a porch after mistaking a man’s cigarette for marijuana. 

Neighborhood protests have bubbled up, and Mayor Muriel Bowser has jumped between appeasement and aggravation. Right wing commentators have spouted violent rhetoric about clearing entire neighborhoods in the city, while residents post impassioned defenses of D.C. and video montages of the city’s beautiful streetscapes. 

Potentially aggressive clearings of homeless encampments are expected to begin on Thursday evening – with threats that people experiencing homelessness will be arrested if they don’t comply.

It’s easy to get lost in the news; there’s just so much of it. It’s also a profoundly challenging time because D.C. has entered a disorienting unknown where much of what happens is simply out of the control of local officials and residents. Even for a town used to getting picked on by the federal government, it can feel like we’re unmoored and being tossed about in a storm that has no clear end in sight. 

Here’s our attempt to clear up this moment for you, as much as we can – what we know, what we don’t, and what might happen next. 

Where things are now

If it felt like Trump’s full-scale deployment started slowly earlier this week, it has since rapidly picked up pace. 

There are now more than 800 federal law enforcement officials – from a mishmash of agencies – out and about on the streets of D.C. They are making arrests (more than 100 through Wednesday) and making their presence felt, including through an increased use of random traffic stops. (There have also been an increase in ICE raids, including one at Home Depot in Northeast on Tuesday.) And this is just the beginning, in many ways. The D.C. National Guard deployment is slowly building to full strength, and its presence will become much more obvious in the days and weeks to come.

Trump continues to paint D.C. as a dysfunctional wasteland that needs to be controlled by force, and more police is only the beginning. He’s floated proposing sweeping changes to D.C.’s criminal laws, for example, which would go through Congress – where residents have no voting representative to speak on their behalf. (And where D.C.’s non-voting delegate, Eleanor Holmes Norton, has been relatively absent during an aggressive federal takeover of the city). 

Police data show that homicides are down 11% from this time last year, and overall violent crime 26%. It’s of course worth noting that this is still relative to the crime spike that occurred in 2023, but on an even longer timeline, violent crime is generally at a low point over the last three decades. Still, crime is unevenly spread across D.C., with certain neighborhoods east of the Anacostia River suffering a disproportionate number of homicides and shootings. Also, carjackings are down 38% compared to this time last year, but that’s also a crime that hit historic highs during the pandemic and remains more prevalent than pre-pandemic. 

We don’t know how long this will last

When Trump announced he was taking over MPD on Monday, many were quick to point out that he’s got a time limit: According to the Home Rule Charter, the president can only federalize MPD for 30 days, after which they have to get Congress to approve of any extensions. 

Well, Trump seems to be angling for just that – and maybe more. “We’re going to be asking for extensions on that – long-term extensions, because you can’t have 30 days,” he said during a press conference on Wednesday.

But even if Congress were to deny him that extension – Democrats in the Senate could filibuster it, for one – Trump has floated going on without them. “I don’t want to call a national emergency,” he said, referencing the broad power he has used before to get his way. “If I have to, I will.”

There will be lawsuits. But it’s unclear how this will play out in the courts

If America is anything, it’s a country of lawsuits – the judiciary is supposed to act as a neutral arbiter and check the excesses of the other two branches of government, after all. 

But the issue with what Trump has done with MPD is that it’s never been done before – and so it’s never been legally challenged. 

“We are in completely uncharted territory,” Vanessa Batters-Thompson, the executive director of the D.C. Appleseed Center for Law and Justice, told The 51st. “Usually, the meaning or interpretation of a law is fleshed out through case law from the courts, but we have no history of lawsuits related to this provision.”  

The main target of a lawsuit could be part of the law that says the president can federalize MPD “when special conditions of an emergency nature exist.” The law doesn’t define emergency, and Trump has claimed that crime in D.C. is the emergency itself. But plenty of people – including city leaders – don’t buy that. “We do not believe we are experiencing a crime spike or are in an emergency status,” said Bowser earlier this week, who also dismissively called it a “so-called emergency.”

This is a fight that Ward 4 Councilmember Janeese Lewis George said is worth picking. “One of the biggest outstanding questions is, what is the emergency? We know the facts don’t support Trump’s claims of a public safety emergency in D.C.,” she said.

Bowser, stuck between a rock and a hard place

Since Trump took office, Bowser has played what could best be described as a game of strategic silence: Don’t say or do things that might draw Trump’s anger, don’t respond every time he bashes D.C., and give him symbolic wins now and again. This was evident in March when she painted over Black Lives Matter Plaza, and more recently when she proposed repealing the city’s sanctuary laws for immigrants. (The D.C. Council rejected her on that count.)

That play-it-nice approach seemed to be working – until this week, Trump has largely kept his focus off of D.C. (the most he did was create a task force to find ways to make the city safer and more beautiful), despite the fact that he has more ways to intervene locally than pretty much anywhere else in the country. And then, the appeasement stopped working. Not only did Trump rush to federalize MPD and deploy the National Guard, he also dismissed Bowser as little more than a “nice” person who seemed to be in over her head.

But if you’d think this week’s actions would bring back Bowser circa 2020 – when she made herself a national figure by loudly criticizing Trump – you’d be wrong. Bowser has since walked the tightest of tightropes, pledging to with work federal law enforcement agencies and even saying it could be helpful in supporting a stretched-thin MPD. At the same time, and with certain audiences, her frustration has been evident. Speaking to community leaders earlier this week, Bowser sounded almost angry.

“We have a beautiful city,” she said. “We have 700,000 proud Americans who call D.C. home. While we are not without our challenges, we take care of our business and we take care of our people. We don’t live in a dirty city. We are not 700,000 scumbags and punks. We don’t have neighborhoods that should be bulldozed.”

Bowser’s balancing act continues to this day. On Thursday, NBC4 reporter Mark Segraves broke the news that Bowser would allow MPD to cooperate lightly on detaining undocumented suspects during traffic stops so they can be picked up by ICE. She’s still not technically violating the letter of D.C.’s existing sanctuary city law, which prohibits agencies from keeping suspected undocumented immigrants in custody longer than they should be just so ICE can pick them up. But the spirit? Some councilmember seem to think not.

"My colleagues and I are discussing the legality of this move and what actions we can take. We are a city that welcomes all and protects our residents," tweeted Ward 1 Councilmember Brianne Nadeau.

MPD is still itself (for now), but federal officers can run free 

When Trump took control of MPD, that first question was what that would mean on an operational level. Would he be dictating where officers went, what they should be arresting people for, and what tactics they should be using? 

So far that hasn’t come to pass; while DEA administrator Terry Cole is now MPD Interim Commissioner, Bowser says the Chief Pamela Smith remains in charge of the department and the officers still have to follow the usual rules, regulations, and orders that have always governed how they police.

But for how long will Trump and Cole remain somewhat hands-off? 

Recall that the law Trump used to take over MPD requires that Bowser provide him with “such services of the Metropolitan Police force as the President may deem necessary and appropriate.” Say Trump deems it “necessary and appropriate” to have MPD officers summarily arrest anyone who is homeless. (His administration has threatened as much.) That would generally go against established MPD practice, but it’s unclear what might happen if Bowser outright refused such a request.

Speaking earlier this week, she did indicate that she would try to keep MPD from straying too far from its usual way of operating, for fear that if it did, it could lose community support. “We are going to do our level best to maintain the trust that D.C. residents have in us,” she said. “What would be a disaster is if we lose communities that won’t call the police or talk to the police if a crime is committed.”

Federal law enforcement officers – and the people who command them – have no such compunctions. They don’t have to wear body cameras – like MPD does – or follow the city’s rules on the use of deadly force, and so on. In fact, Trump himself coined a term for how he wants them to conduct themselves if faced with people who challenge them: “You spit, we hit.” 

Bowser did say that Smith got a commitment from the federal government that officers “will wear identifying clothing – a vest, jacket, shirt, badge – so that members of the community know they are law enforcement.”

Still, Bowser has also conceded that there is a higher chance of negative police interactions as more federal officers walk the streets. “There is an expectation that a lot of stops will happen,” she said. “That will remain the area that I have a lot of concern about. Law enforcement that aren’t used to making stops making stops. Everybody is expected to follow the law, and the police are expected to police in a constitutional way, whether they are our police or federal police.”

Speaking to community groups earlier this week, Bowser said that her office was considering producing and distributing a “Know Your Rights” document to residents with information about exactly what they can and can’t do if stopped by an agent with the DEA, FBI, or even Border Patrol. (It’s often civil rights groups that produce these types of documents, not the government itself.)

There’s also the issue that the new federal bosses don’t have to answer any questions from local reporters or residents. “I've already heard from multiple reporters that they are frustrated with the lack of responses. TRANSPARENCY in the trash,” tweeted Larry Calhoun, a prominent local crime reporter.

Federal officers are also protected by different laws than local ones, which can result in greater penalties for residents they interact with. Remember the sandwich-throwing guy, who tossed a foot-long sub at an ICE officer working along U Street last Sunday? 

Well, on Wednesday U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro charged him with felony assault on a police officer – punishable by up to eight years in prison. Under local D.C. law, such a charge would require proving the officer would face significant injury from the assault. But under the much more stringent federal version of the law, all that is needed for a felony charge is an act that involves “physical contact.” (Recall that many of the Jan. 6 participants were charged with violently assaulting police officers, and subsequently pardoned by Trump.)

Now, that may be a silly and made-for-TV skirmish. But it also shows how federal law enforcement officers can operate under their own rules. 

“My worry is an accident, something accidentally happens, and it throws this city into chaos,” said Charles Lockett, a civic leader in Northeast, during a call with Bowser this week.

They’re coming for the homeless

While most of Trump’s decision to federalize MPD and deploy federal law enforcement officers and the D.C. National Guard had to do with crime, he was clear that homeless encampments are also a significant target. That’s in part because he thinks it’s embarrassing for the nation’s capital to have residents who are homeless, but reportedly because he also got upset seeing them on his way to play golf.

D.C. has been clearing encampments for years – much to the chagrin of local advocates, who say clearings can create more distrust and alienation in communities that are already suffering. According to City Administrator Kevin Donahue, a concerted effort by the city over the years has cut the number of people living in encampments from 300 to around 100 today. “We know we have made a difference, and those efforts predate this administration,” he said.

But that hasn’t been enough for the Trump administration – nor has the fact that his own agencies have cleared some 70 encampments on federal land already. 

“Homeless individuals will be given the option to leave their encampment, to be taken to a homeless shelter, to be offered addiction or mental health services,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday, explaining how clearings expected to start today will happen. “And if they refuse, they will be susceptible to fines or to jail time.”

D.C. has rarely arrested people for sleeping outside. Leavitt said D.C. law allows such arrests, which is both true and not. The D.C. Code does forbid people from blocking roads, sidewalks, or public entrances, but that is more often used against protesters who are standing in traffic. (Also, citations are more often used than actual arrests.).

"People without homes have the same legal and constitutional rights as anyone else in this Country – to be free from unlawful search and seizure, to have due process, to have the right to travel, and the right to choose which jurisdiction to live in. Arresting people for no reason other than the fact that they have no home is inhumane and unjust. It is particularly cruel to do so knowing that federal and local housing programs have been slashed and that D.C. does not have enough shelter beds,” said Amber W. Harding, executive director of the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless.

As with all stories involving people experiencing homelessness in D.C., please follow Street Sense Media. 

Some of the rhetoric from the right is, well, disturbing 

Some visitors and locals have noted that D.C. does indeed have issues with crime. Some people feel the city’s laws are too permissive, especially of petty crimes, and that D.C. should be a safer place to walk around at night.

Right-wing pundits, meanwhile, are engaging in incendiary and frankly scary rhetoric. Benny Johnson, a right-wing influencer, outlined this week in no uncertain terms what he thinks should happen to some D.C. neighborhoods.

“If you are a proud patriot and you love this country and you wish for it to be reflected honorably to the peoples of Earth, then Washington, D.C. must be swept clean,” he said. “I believe entire neighborhoods, probably, need to be emptied, need to be bulldozed. I believe that there are places that are so crime-ridden and so infested that you just need to – like you're just gonna have to crack down.”

He’s got 3.8 million followers on X – and an in with the White House. Just this week he was given a chance to ask a question at the daily White House press briefing, for one.

This language isn’t limited to the fringes on social media. Some of it filtered into what Trump himself said on Monday, when he argued that he would be “getting rid of the slums” in D.C. These aren’t idle threats in D.C. history – one need only look to the urban renewal of Southwest in the 1950s and 60s to know it has happened in the past.