Donald Trump will deploy National Guard troops to Washington DC to 're-establish law and order'
The US president announced he was deploying the National Guard to Washington DC, saying the capital "should be one of the safest, cleanest and most beautiful cities anywhere in the world and we're going to make it that".
Monday 11 August 2025 22:45, UK
Donald Trump has announced he is going to deploy National Guard troops to Washington DC to make the US capital's streets safer.
At a White House news conference on Monday, the president said the city's police would come under federal control as he said the murder rate in DC was "higher than" in some of the "worst places on earth".
He said he was sending in 800 National Guard troops to "re-establish law, order, and public safety".
Mr Trump said he was announcing a "historic action to rescue our nation's capital from crime, bloodshed, bedlam and squalor and worse.
"This is liberation day in DC and we are going to take our capital back."
The president continued: "So today we are declaring a public safety emergency in the district of Columbia."
He added it was not just about safety but also the "beautification" of the city.
"Washington DC should be one of the safest, cleanest and most beautiful cities anywhere in the world and we're going to make it that."
Last week, the Republican president directed federal law enforcement agencies to increase their presence in Washington for seven days, with the option "to extend as needed".
On Friday night, federal agencies including the Secret Service, the FBI and the US Marshals Service assigned more than 120 officers and agents to assist in Washington.
National Guard troops usually belong to individual states and personnel in many cases are trained to help with emergencies that those states have to deal with, such as natural disasters.
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Since they are the reserve force of the US military, National Guard troops are usually part-time, meaning that they have other jobs as well.
DC Mayor Muriel Bowser said on Monday that the city had reached a 30-year low in violent crime.
Ms Bowser said that crime was down not just from a post-pandemic peak in 2023, but from 2019 levels prior to the pandemic.
She also said Mr Trump's announced takeover of DC police force was "unsettling".
Minority leader of the US House of Representatives, Hakeem Jeffries, responded to Mr Trump's announcement on Monday with a post on X which read: "Violent crime in Washington, DC is at a thirty-year low.
"Donald Trump has no basis to take over the local police department. And zero credibility on the issue of law and order.
"Get lost."
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Tap to followMr Trump also vowed to remove homeless encampments, but fell short of providing details on how or where homeless people would be moved.
In a social media post on Sunday, Mr Trump said: "The Homeless have to move out, IMMEDIATELY.
"We will give you places to stay, but FAR from the Capital. The Criminals, you don't have to move out. We're going to put you in jail where you belong."