A few weeks ago, Washington DC played host to the annual Citi Open, a nice-sized tennis tournament for men and women. Several of the Black tennis players commented on how much they love playing in DC specifically because of the diversity. Hailey Baptiste said “DC is probably one of the Blackest stops on tour.” Frances Tiafoe, a Beltway native on the Maryland side, remarked that he always loves to play “at home” and he, as a Black man, loves playing in DC because there are “so many people of color in the stands, it’s awesome. Chocolate City for a reason. Diversity is insane. I love being here.” It’s all true – DC has a majority Black population for decades. And now that population is being policed by the National Guard and FBI. Donald Trump has placed the DC police force under federal control, and deployed the National Guard for no reason other than he saw a homeless person on his way to the golf course.
President Donald Trump announced Monday that he was placing the D.C. police under direct federal control and will deploy the National Guard to the streets of Washington to fight crime, an extraordinary flex of federal power that stripped city leadership of its ability to make law enforcement decisions and could expose residents of the nation’s capital to unpredictable encounters with a domestically deployed military force.
The decision to take over the D.C. police and deploy 800 National Guard troops comes as the president has been slamming America’s cities as places where crime is out of control, despite two years of declines that have brought homicide levels in many major cities to their lowest levels in decades.
The administration has already mobilized FBI agents in recent days in overnight shifts to help local law enforcement prevent carjackings and violent crime, officials said. Because the District of Columbia is not a state, the federal government has unusually sweeping powers to intervene over the objections of its residents and leaders, giving the president an opportunity to use it as a laboratory for a militarized approach to urban crime-fighting.
Under the city’s Home Rule Act, the president can take over the D.C. police for a period of up to 30 days by declaring “special conditions of an emergency nature exist.” After that time, the police would revert to local control unless Congress passes a law to allow a longer period of federal control.
Whether the administration would want to extend the takeover beyond 30 days is unclear. In previous actions, including sending the National Guard to Los Angeles, Trump made high-profile declarations, then allowed the federal deployments to fade out over time. A longer period of federal accountability for local D.C. crime could raise the political risk for Trump.
The last time this kind of National Guard contingent was deployed into DC, it was in the hours after Trump’s violent cult members tried to overthrow the government on January 6, 2021. The National Guard was deployed to keep members of Congress safe from psychotic insurrectionists, many of whom have been pardoned by Donald Trump in recent months. This is a shocking federal takeover of an American city, and Trump is threatening/promising to do the same thing in other American cities (cities with large Black populations).
DC’s Mayor Muriel Bowser called Trump’s move “unsettling and unprecedented” but she also indicated that she’s not surprised that Trump is doing this in her city. Mayor Bowser also said: “We’re going to work every day to get this emergency put to an end — I’ll call it the ‘so-called emergency.’”
Trump announces he's placing the DC police department "under direct federal control" and deploying the National Guard in the city
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) August 11, 2025 at 10:42 AM
Photos courtesy of Cover Images.
-
- President Donald Trump addressing the media at the White House as he announced the deployment of the National Guard Featuring: President Donald Trump, Pete Hegseth, Pam Bondi Where: Washington, District of Columbia, United States When: 11 Aug 2025 Credit: Yuri Gripas/POOL via CNP/INSTARimages.com
-
- President Donald Trump addressing the media at the White House as he announced the deployment of the National Guard Featuring: President Donald Trump Where: Washington, District of Columbia, United States When: 11 Aug 2025 Credit: Yuri Gripas/POOL via CNP/INSTARimages.com
-
- President Donald Trump addressing the media at the White House as he announced the deployment of the National Guard Featuring: President Donald Trump, Pete Hegseth Where: Washington, District of Columbia, United States When: 11 Aug 2025 Credit: Ron Sachs/CNP/INSTARimages
-
- President Donald Trump addressing the media at the White House as he announced the deployment of the National Guard Featuring: President Donald Trump Where: Washington, District of Columbia, United States When: 11 Aug 2025 Credit: Ron Sachs/CNP/INSTARimages
Anything to deflect from Epstein.
Yep and he’s trying to get black people riled up so we will be in the streets protesting and get arrested. As part of the 92% I see it for what it is. He wants violence and an excuse to put us in jail.
Yes and to strip Black people of their citizenships. This is absolutely the end goal. Lock up Black people – take away the citizenship or “criminals” .
When he’s already deploying the National Guard, I think he has something even worse in mind than arrests and imprisonment.
Potential distraction from Epstein is just icing on the racist cake. The takeover of majority minority cities, especially with Black mayors, was always part of the plan. Then there’s the November election results in DC: Harris 92.5%, Trump 6.6%. There are multiple reasons he’s going full Hitler in DC.
Nah.. This is white people fight, let them fight for authorianism. Racism is expensive and has not been a shared cost.Black folks are resting! Leave them alone.
Epstein might be the excuse to execute this, but these plans were already in place long before now.
Absolutely. The media didn’t care to cover it when Trump was calling Democrats the “enemy of the state” but I sure AF took him seriously. That was not hyperbole–that was him forecasting the punitive measures he was going to take against Dem cities, Dem states, and Dem voters. And don’t forget the “homegrowns” comment referring to his foreign gulag–he would lock up every protestor at the No Kings protests if he could. That has always been the goal.
I don’t know how to get Americans to understand the implication of this (present company excluded) and that we are just so fucked.
All Republicans presidents disagree with DC’s home rule. Trump is doing what the others didn’t have the guts to do. As for crisis in homelessness, if they can build a prison camp in eight weeks in Florida, I’m pretty sure the unhoused could be housed with the same speed.
@Megan: for heaven’s sake, they didn’t ‘build’ anything in the Everglades. They unfolded some tents on an existing paved airfield. No construction required. And it’s not that trump’s doing what other Republican presidents ‘didn’t have the guts to do’, he’s doing what other Republican presidents knew damn well was illegal & unnecessary.
I normally don’t believe in hate, but when i say i hate this man.. I really HATE this man!!!
Same, Michelle, same.
Right there with you. I have never looked forward to reading an obituary like I am with this hateful man.
My sister (same age as Trump) checks her phone first thing every morning, hoping for the best.
sadly, just remember the spare is even more scary. so if he moves into another realm – it’s his back up who succeds.
I pray every day to wake up with the same news. Massive myocardial infarction is my hope.
He and Stephen Miller have taught me a level of hate I never knew I could reach.
It’s been hard to face the fact that I actually want someone to die. I’m 63 and have had presidents I don’t like and don’t respect, but never had one that makes me grit my teeth in hate and horror.
They are testing the waters with DC because it’s not a state. He started there for a reason. DC will serve to de-sensitize or normalize federal occupation in a major city in people’s minds and he will move on to Chicago, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Detroit, Philadelphia, and so on. They are just getting started. All this as the Supreme Court gets ready to strike down the Voting Rights Act.
“We will take America without firing a single shot. We do not have to invade the United States. We will bury you from within” – Russian Premier Nikita Krsuhchev
Unfortunately, you are correct. Makes you wonder what will really go on in his meeting with Putin.
I wouldn’t be surprised if he hands over Alaska along with most of Ukraine.
i saw a headline this morning quoting him as saying a land exchange is on the table.
He did slip and say that he was meeting Putin in RUSSIA.
Yup, Trump is dismantling this country and lining his pockets at the same time. The only person that benefits is Putin. The Kompromat Epstein sold him on Trump and others in the US government must be really damaging. I don’t even want to think about what Epstein filmed in his house, in its many bedrooms…
Exactly, Side-Eye–Mayor Bass was right when she said LA was the test case, now DC and then every blue city from Boston to Seattle will be under Fed control.
I know this is Epstein distraction but it is also completely terrifying. Both things can be true and we can focus on more than one thing at a time.
This is a genuine question–is the national guard still deployed in Los Angeles?
Most of the national guard troops have been released–I think only 300 remain–but Newsome sued the administration and that trial begins today. Whatever happens in court will surely set a precedent in terms of how other cities handle Trump’s Federalization of their law enforcement.
Troops don’t generally sign up to occupy the territories within their own country so I’m sure plenty of them are pissed about this.
there are a few – though the initial larger force has been withdrawn – a quick search says there are about 250 still at a joint training base.
We’re watching this from afar and wondering how far this descent into madness will lead to.
I hope the good posters on here have back up plans. It’s 1930s Germany in slo-mo.
Why do the DC’s police let him take control of them. This is the part I don’t understand. Who pay the police force? Why do they support the national guards or ICE. I understand it’s simplistic, but what would happen if they refuse to work. This is not only an attack on democracy but also on the most fragile population of the US.
What happens if they refuse is that it would ratchet this up to the steps that would lead to a revolt. He will push and take and dare the American public and Congress to defy him.
Don’t overlook the likelihood that a not insignificant number of DC police might have voted for him.
@Julie. DC is a federal city with home rule but congressional oversight. It is not a state although it is taxed like one.
Washington, DC is unique in America. It’s a stand-alone federal city. It’s got Home Rule and they have their own laws and services; vote for local offices; pay local + federal taxes, etc. They have a Representative in Congress, but that rep has no voting power. They can vote in Presidential election (since 1960 Constitutional Amendment).
Maybe this will push the question of Statehood for DC further across the table. No chance as long as there’s Republican majority, though. Even if Congress passes it, Trump will veto and Congress won’t have the votes to over-rule him.
But, maybe in the future?
Because of DC’s status as the Federal City, my understanding is that the President can declare an “emergency” for up to 30 days —which gives him unusual control over the MPD. Beyond 30 days, extending the control would need to be approved by Congress. In addition, though, there are about 20 other police forces in the city — METRO police, Amtrak police, Capitol police, National Park Service police….as well as forces like the FBI and ICE. Most of these police forces are under Federal control.
My guess is that if individual MPD officers resisted orders, they would be fired. I’m not sure what would happen if the Police union or the police command were to resist Trump’s takeover — but recent reports suggest that the Union head welcomes the “assistance”. Note that many officers aren’t from DC, most don’t live in DC, and some are likely to be Trump supporters — so none of this is simple.
I agree with those who have said that Trump and Miller would not be unhappy if the police presence provoked pushback from citizens— which could then be used as a reason for imposing more repression, which would then not only normalize repression but serve as practice for targeting other cities with large populations of those of us who are not white.
I too hate Donald Trump.
Is this the set up for Peter Theil or whatever tf his name is to bring him down. They’ve got Vance cooling his heels in England.
This is all so distressing. The question is how to fight in a meaningful way and I’m at a loss.
Whatever blackmail Putin and others have must be something else. Like Caligula level. I mean Trump has got the courts, media, Congress and business elites in his pocket. Even academia is capitulating. I guess federalizing control of the states is all that’s left? Where are all of those “states rights” people now? Where is the party of “local control” and small government? Do they understand it’s all been a lie right from the start ?
‘States rights’ only applies when it means taking away women’s rights to control their own bodies.
THIS. 🙁
I don’t think anyone anywhere has anything on Trump including Putin because it’s quite clear nothing would matter at this point. Even Epstein–Trump’s supporters would find a way to convince themselves that he was going undercover as Epstein’s “friend” but really he was trying to infiltrate and uncover the misdeeds at Epstein Island by having sex with underage girls–“it was all for a very noble cause, you see” they would say.
I hate it but I truly feel like we are at that point.
DC resident here. This is quickish breakdown of how DC Home Rule works in regard to MPD and the National Guard.
Police: Section 740 of the Home Rule Act allows the President to assume direct control of the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department upon determining “special conditions of an emergency nature exist”. Though rarely contemplated, this represents an ultimate check on local authority.
National Guard: The D.C. National Guard is the only one commanded by the President, not the local executive. Every state governor can deploy their National Guard in emergencies, but D.C.’s Mayor must request permission from the White House. This was highlighted during the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack, when delayed Guard deployment became a critical issue.
That clown also has control over our judiciary, which is how we ended up with Jeanine Pirro as our Attorney General.
D.C. residents—who number more than Wyoming and Vermont’s populations—pay more federal taxes per capita than any state, serve in the military, and fulfill all citizenship responsibilities, yet have no voting members in Congress.
We are always being screwed by the idiots on Capital Hill that come here from somewhere else and leave as soon as they are voted out.
Sorry for the long civics lesson, but I am so pissed off and worried about my city and the country.
Thank you for this quick and clear summary. His presser on this was truly deranged and it’s clear he’s completely senile at this point. I’m struggling with how it is that people are obeying his unhinged orders in their professional roles. Heather Cox Richardson, a (usually) very calm historian, posted this on Bluesky yesterday: “Listening to this press conference it seems clear that Trump is mentally gone and that his team is consolidating power for President J.D. Vance.”
I made this point yesterday. JD Vance isn’t on vacation. He’s on call until Peter Thiel tells him he’s president.
Do they plan on “disappearing “ Thump permanently? Because I can’t see him quietly stepping aside like Biden did. God help us if he has access to a phone. They’ll need to shut down Lie Social completely.
that’s my question – there is no way to dethrone the maniac and him just go quietly into the night — that press conference was a hot mess, but no difference than the drivel he spouts at every opportunity.
Vance can’t ignite the base and he can’t keep Congressional republicans in line.
I see a lot of responses lately that Vance doesn’t have Trump’s popularity. But that is incorrect and wishful thinking. His base has been trained to and is currently in the process of shifting their allegiance to Vance…slowly and meticulously. If you pay attention to their subreddits etc, you can see this shift in real time. Not that it will matter once power is fully consolidated AND voting has been dismantled (this is the real news that’s not being covered, how aggressively they are going after voting, not just the VRA).
Thank you, we appreciate it!
And since you mention it, Civics is something that should be taught in schools again, so people can understand how hard-fought their rights are, and what their rights are. And that a president is not supposed to be a king.
I agree with you. What stands out to me though, is how many times my Government / Civics teacher said: “But, of course, that doesn’t apply to us.” when I took my required Government course many years ago in my DC Public high school. There’s no voting senator or congressional representative that I can call — with any real power. The truly awful part is that people who have no stake in the well-being of DC citizens get to make decisions about the city — purely to score political points with their own constituents.
Note that prior to 1961 (or so), DC residents could not vote in Presidential elections. The first elected mayor and the City Council date from the 1970s.
This unbelievably unattractive bullfrog-looking man has gone off the rails. He’s fucking nuts!
Everything he threatens to do, he does! The media and other politicians still act like it’s some loony idea that will never happen but a few days later, boom!, he takes over DC. It’s a pattern and not a good one.
We have said from the jump they want to manufacture an excuse and cause instability. That way they can really go out and secure the capitol and go martial law. For these old white men and their stooges a rave war seems to be what they think will be easiest. Hence the constant showing of that terrible video of a fight in Ohio (l think) .And yes it was disgusting and everyone involved needs to go to jail. However I think we will be seeing more of this. Also …Epstein.
And in other news, the DOJ reported crime was at all time 30 year low in D.C. this past April.
Trump is an empty vessel being used by Steven Miller. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, this country is done for. It’s sobering and even scary to THINK it never mind say it but every human right is being stripped and he had the highest court to back him up. He has a loyalist who will do anything Steven Miller wants.
I don’t think we’ll survive this tyranny.
What unites the black and white parts of the District? Mumbo sauce, Chuck Brown, and hated of the orange one and his even worse set of cronies. I see Stephen Miller’s fingerprints all over everything.
If DC is sooo bad, why are federal employees ordered to report to offices? Should they get hazard pay? Or be allowed to telework? DC is a safe place, driving expensive cards and confronting criminals in the middle of the night will get you a beat down in any city? He had choices and chose confrontation. Bad on Big Balls.
Next step, martial law (or ‘Marshall Law’ as MTG so eloquently puts it). Gad I feel sorry for all you rational, intelligent Americans being put through this. He’s treating the entire country like a game of monopoly and living next door to America is giving me the heebie-jeebies.
This isn’t just distraction, this is one action in a sequence that continues to strip our country of rights rooted in the Constitution.
Knock on your neighbors’ doors, call representatives, BOYCOTT, BOYCOTT, BOYCOTT, protest, petition, Do not take it easy, white people. Yes, white people, most notably.