President Trump took the extraordinary step Monday of seizing control of the Washington, D.C., police department and deploying 800 federal National Guard troops to combat crime, putting the city on edge.
🔷 The administration's argument: Trump said this is an attempt to "rescue" D.C. from "bloodshed, bedlam and squalor."
The stats the White House wants to emphasize: White House officials handed out a pamphlet to reporters showing the crime rate: It shows the District's murder rate as higher than Delhi, India; Bogotá, Colombia; and London . There were 187 homicides last year, which is higher than the years immediately preceding the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.
♦️ The argument against the D.C. takeover: That crime rates are actually falling. Critics are concerned about Trump's expanding militarization in domestic cities.
The stats critics want you to see: Police statistics show crime rates in the District have dropped significantly over the past two years. Violent crime is down 26 percent from last year. Plus, 2024 saw a 32 percent drop in homicides and a 35 percent drop in overall violent crime compared to 2023.
District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) was critical of Trump's Washington takeover during a press conference Monday and said she was not given a heads up about the president's full plan. (Though she was fairly guarded in her criticism.)
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) slammed Trump's move as a "political ploy and attempted distraction from Trump's other scandals." Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) called Trump "an incoherent wannabe dictator." Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) described it as a "gross abuse of power that reeks of authoritarianism." And California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) accused Trump of "[gaslighting] his way into militarizing any city he wants in America."
This plan worries advocates for homeless people: ABC News reports on what this means for homeless people in the District of Columbia.
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