BLACKPRESSUSA—Donald Trump has taken direct control of D.C.’s police force, stripping authority from Mayor Muriel Bowser and placing it under Attorney General Tom Cotton. The unprecedented move—possible only because D.C. lacks statehood—shifts policing power to the federal government, raising fears of aggressive tactics and sidelining local priorities in the majority-Black city.
By Stacy M. Brown. Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent
-– Recently, Donald Trump seized direct control of Washington, D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department, stripping authority from Mayor Muriel Bowser and handing it over to Attorney General Tom Cotton. The move, made under a “crime emergency” declaration, invokes Section 740 of the D.C. Home Rule Act—a rarely used law that exists only because the District lacks statehood.
Mayor Bowser no longer has operational control of her police department. All deployment decisions now go through the Justice Department, including the authority to shift officers from neighborhood patrols to guarding federal buildings, securing monuments, and policing protests—even if it results in fewer officers in local communities. D.C. Police Chief Pamela Smith said the city received no warning of Trump’s plan, expecting instead a National Guard announcement. She said she will work with Attorney General Pam Bondi.
“Having our Metropolitan Police Department working alongside our federal partners who have come into the city to help us assess and deal with the crime,” Smith said. “We will work alongside them, but intentionally, we want to make sure that our community understands that we are there. We’re going to be boots on the ground.”
For African Americans—nearly half the city’s population—the change puts local policing under a president who has called for racial profiling, attacked other predominantly Black-led cities such as Baltimore and Chicago, and backed “law and order” policies that disproportionately target Black communities. Residents may see federal priorities overriding local strategies, with increased policing at demonstrations and broader latitude for aggressive tactics.
Trump justified the takeover by citing D.C.’s 2024 homicide and vehicle theft rates, even though other majority-Black cities he has targeted have seen significant crime reductions this year. His order has no end date, but the law limits control to 30 days unless extended by Congress.
This is only possible because D.C. is not a state—a political reality that leaves its leadership vulnerable to federal override and its residents without complete control of its government.
