Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser has criticized President Donald Trump’s move to deploy the National Guard to the capital, labeling it “unsettling and unprecedented” and stressing that her administration remains in charge of the city’s police force.
Speaking at a press conference Monday, Bowser dismissed suggestions of a federal takeover, countering Trump’s earlier remarks at his own briefing. “Nothing about our organizational chart has changed,” she insisted, underscoring that the police chief still reports to her office.
Trump, who has long criticized crime in the nation’s capital, portrayed the city as plagued by “violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals, roving mobs of violent youth, drugged out maniacs and homeless people.” He invoked a little-used clause of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, which permits a federal takeover of Washington’s police department for up to 30 days if certain congressional leaders are notified.
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Bowser rejected the idea that an emergency justified the order, pointing to a decline in crime since a 2023 spike. “While this action today is unsettling and unprecedented, I can’t say that given some of the rhetoric of the past, that we’re totally surprised,” she said. “I can say to D.C. residents that we will continue to operate our government in a way that makes you proud.”
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Though the mayor said the city would cooperate with Trump’s directive and continue planning meetings with federal officials, including Attorney General Pam Bondi and newly appointed police commissioner Terry Cole, she stressed the chain of command remains intact. “The chief of police reports through the deputy mayor to the mayor of the District of Columbia,” Bowser reiterated.
The situation has reignited the long-standing push for D.C. statehood. Bowser argued that full autonomy could prevent federal interventions like this one. “If people are concerned about the president being able to move the National Guard into our city, the time to do that would have been when the Congress had a bill that it could have given control of the D.C. National Guard to D.C.,” she said.
Not all in local law enforcement share Bowser’s stance. Gregg Pemberton, chair of the Washington police union, backed the federal involvement, calling it “a critical stopgap.” In a statement, he warned, “We stand with the President in recognizing that Washington, DC, cannot continue on this trajectory. Crime is out of control, and our officers are stretched beyond their limits.”
