Fears Over Trump Power Grab With Police Takeover
The president could take control of Washington, D.C.’s force without congressional approval.
NY Daily News via Getty Images
Democrats in Washington, D.C., are worried Donald Trump could take control of the capital city’s police force.
The president does not need congressional approval to seize the Metropolitan Police Department and its 3,400 sworn officers.
A legal loophole that has never been used could allow Trump to put the D.C. force under his power.
Trump has complained about the level of crime in the nation’s capital, and he could declare that “special conditions of an emergency nature exist which require the use of the Metropolitan Police force for federal purposes,” according to a provision of D.C. law.
PRESIDENT TRUMP: "The federal government should take over the governance of D.C. and run it really, really properly." pic.twitter.com/HQe0HhKmLx
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) February 20, 2025
Mayor Muriel Bowser would then be directed to provide the police to the president for an initial 48 hours.
Trump could then extend that period to 30 days by notifying the House and Senate. If he wanted to keep the D.C. police under his control any longer, that would require votes in both chambers of Congress.
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With GOP majorities in the House and Senate, a further extension is conceivable.
According to Axios, Washington Democrats have feared the power grab ever since the president threatened to take over the District of Columbia, telling the media the mayor was “not doing the job.”
Trump said the city has “too much crime.”
“I think that we should run it strong, run it with law and order, make it absolutely flawless,” he said, adding that its “great police department” was “not utilized properly.”
A full-scale takeover of the city would require a change in the law, which is unlikely to happen.
On Feb. 20, the MPD issued a statement saying it had driven down crime “at a historic pace in 2024.”
See a statement from the Metropolitan Police Department regarding public safety in the District of Columbia. pic.twitter.com/c3n7bHrr3m
— DC Police Department (@DCPoliceDept) February 20, 2025
During his first term, Trump considered taking over the D.C. force amid the 2020 riots but changed his mind after Bowser said a heavy-handed approach might exacerbate tensions.
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