President Donald Trump has launched an unprecedented federal takeover of Washington D.C.’s police force while deploying over 2,200 National Guard troops to the nation’s capital. The move comes as part of what Trump calls a crime emergency, despite data showing violent crime in D.C. has dropped 26% this year compared to 2024.
Trump signed an executive order creating specialized National Guard units specifically trained for “public order issues” and has threatened to expand this approach to other major cities. Pentagon officials are already drafting plans to potentially deploy National Guard troops to Chicago as soon as September, with Baltimore and New York also being considered as targets.
