President Trump announced Monday that he would invoke a takeover of the Washington, D.C., police department and activate the National Guard in the nation’s capital as the District of Columbia’s crime and appearance have become his targets. Under the Home Rule Act, Trump can temporarily take control of the District’s Police Department for a period of thirty (30) days, unless extended by Congress. The president also announced Monday that he was declaring a public safety emergency in the District.
“Our capital city has been overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals, roving mobs of wild youth, drugged-out maniacs, and homeless people, and we’re not going to let it happen anymore. We’re not going to take it,” Trump said at a wide-ranging Monday morning press conference.
There have already been 101 incidents of homicide in 2025, plus more after the change in control. At a news conference in connection with that event, the D.C. Chief of Police, Pamela Smith, was asked how the change would affect the Department’s chain of command; her answer: “What does that mean?” She is facing backlash and mockery on social media after she appeared to not understand a question from the media about the department’s “chain of command” amid President Donald Trump’s recent federalization of the department. “Can you tell us what the chain of command is now?” a reporter was heard asking Smith during a press conference Tuesday morning. “What does that mean?” the police chief responded. Smith previously served as the department’s first chief equity officer, where she “led the department’s efforts on diversity, equity and inclusion,” according to her biography.
@DC Home Rule https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5445829-live-updates-trump
#homerule, #lawandorder, #nationalguard, #dcmurders
