President Donald Trump weighs National Guard deployment and federal control measures for Washington, D.C., as part of broader crime crackdown efforts in the capital.
President Donald Trump is weighing whether to deploy up to 1,000 National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., as early as this week, Fox News has learned, in an effort to help deal with what he characterized as a surge in violent crime.
The plans come just one day after Trump vowed on Truth Social to evict homeless persons from that nation’s capital. „The Homeless have to move out, IMMEDIATELY“, Trump said on social media. „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.“
Trump’s plans, which are expected to be detailed further at a 10 a.m. press conference Monday, would likely involve members of the D.C. National Guard, or the 2,700-member National Guard force that acts at the express authority of the commander in chief.
Unlike other branches, Trump would not have to get the sign off of local authorities to act — likely making their activation a tempting option.
When speaking to reporters in the Oval Office last week, Trump railed against what he described as a „ridiculous“ level of crime in the nation’s capital, buffeted most recently by the assault on a former DOGE staffer earlier this month.
„We want to have a great, safe capital“, Trump said last week. „And we’re going to have it.“
Trump also told reporters that his White House lawyers are looking into ending the Home Rule Act, a law passed by Congress in 1973 that gave Washington, D.C., residents the right to elect their own mayor and local representatives.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt also told reporters last week that Trump had ordered law enforcement personnel to increase their presence in the capital, though the additional details on the scope and timeframe of that presence remain unclear.
