Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser held a press conference Monday following President Donald Trump’s announcement that he’s taking over Washington’s police department and activating 800 members of the National Guard in the hopes of reducing crime and tackling homelessness in the city.

The president exaggerated or misstated many of the facts surrounding public safety in D.C., where the crime rate has fallen in recent years.

Trump’s plan prompted the District of Columbia’s mayor to voice concerns about the potential use of the National Guard to patrol the streets.

“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,” Bowser said.

Here’s the latest:

Trial starts over National Guard deployment to Los Angeles

A federal judge is hearing arguments on whether military troops deployed this summer by the Trump administration to Los Angeles violated a federal law that bars troops from conducting law enforcement duties within the country.

Judge Charles Breyer will decide whether the 1878 Posse Comitatus Act was violated when 4,700 California National Guard members and Marines were sent following protests over immigration raids.

A deputy commanding general testified Monday that military forces called in were allowed to take some law enforcement actions despite the federal law that prohibits the president from using the military as a domestic police force.

The administration has argued that federal military members are allowed to protect federal property and agents as part of their mission carrying out federal operations.

▶ Read more about the trial that could set the precedent for how Trump can deploy the guard in the future

Trump’s big bill is powering his mass deportations. Congress is starting to ask questions

The Republican Party’s big bill of tax breaks and spending cuts that Trump signed into law July 4 included what’s arguably the biggest boost of funds yet to the Department of Homeland Security — nearly $170 billion, almost double its annual budget.

The staggering sum is powering the nation’s sweeping new Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations, delivering gripping scenes of people being pulled off city streets and from job sites across the nation — the cornerstone of Trump’s promise for the largest domestic deportation operation in American history.

The crush of new money is setting off alarms in Congress and beyond, raising questions from lawmakers in both major political parties who are expected to provide oversight.

The bill text provided general funding categories — almost $30 billion for ICE officers, $45 billion for detention facilities, $10 billion for the office of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem — but few policy details or directives. Homeland Security recently announced $50,000 ICE hiring bonuses.

▶ Read more about the funding behind Trump’s mass deportation agenda

Trump’s moves toward taking over Washington are unprecedented. Here’s what the law says

D.C.’s historically majority Black population wasn’t electing its own city council and mayor until 1973, when Republican President Richard Nixon signed the Home Rule Act.

The measure still left significant power to the president and Congress, though no president has exercised the police powers before.

Section 740 of the Home Rule Act allows for the president to take over Washington’s Metropolitan Police Department for 48 hours, with possible extensions to 30 days, during times of emergencies. No president has done so before, said Monica Hopkins, executive director of the ACLU of Washington.

It wasn’t immediately clear how long the takeover might last or exactly what it might mean. It could also face challenges in court.

The law is specific to D.C. and doesn’t affect other communities around the U.S. referred to as having their own “home rule” powers in relationship to their state governments.

Trump nominates jobs report critic to lead Bureau of Labor Statistics

The president posted on social media that he has picked E.J. Antoni, an economist at conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation to lead the agency in charge of the monthly jobs report, the consumer price index and other indicators.

Trump dismissed the previous commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Erika McEntarfer, after the July jobs report contained dramatic downward revisions of 258,000 jobs combined in June and May, suggesting a weaker economy than what the president had claimed.

The president has said the jobs report is rigged, and Antoni has frequently criticized the report, putting him outside of mainstream economists.

“E.J. will ensure that the Numbers released are HONEST and ACCURATE,” Trump said on Truth Social.

Trump’s tax law will mostly benefit the rich, while leaving poorer Americans with less, CBO says

Trump’stax and spending law will result in less income for the poorest Americans while sending money to the richest, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office reported Monday.

The CBO estimates that the 10% of poorest Americans will lose roughly $1,200 a year as they experience restrictions on government programs like Medicaid and food assistance, while the richest 10% of Americans will see their income increase by $13,600 from tax cuts.

Overall, American households will see more income from the tax cuts in the legislation, including middle income households, but the largest benefit will go to the top 10% of earners.

Roughly 2.4 million people won’t be eligible for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program under new work requirements for many recipients, the CBO found. Low-income Americans could also see their income reduced through further restrictions on food aid and other types of assistance included in the law.

How the National Guard deployment in DC will work

According to the Army, Guard troops will be deployed under Title 32, or “federal-state status” authority. That means the troops can conduct law enforcement activities on the streets of the nation’s capital — though, at the moment, that doesn’t appear to be the plan.

“Their duties will include an array of tasks from administrative, logistics and physical presence in support of law enforcement,” according to a statement from the Army, to which the District of Columbia National Guard directed all questions.

About 500 federal law enforcement officers are being assigned to patrols in Washington, including from the FBI; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Drug Enforcement Administration; Immigration and Customs Enforcement; and the Marshals Service.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters that Guard members will be “flowing into the streets of Washington in the coming week.”

The timeline for the troop deployment is vaguely defined. According to Trump’s directive, National Guard troops will remain deployed until the president determines “that conditions of law and order have been restored.”

▶ Read more about how Trump has deployed the National Guard to cities during his second term

Trump wants his Cabinet to work with Intel CEO he had wanted fired

Trump retreated from his calls for chipmaker Intel to dismiss its CEO, Lip-Bu Tan, after meeting with him on Monday.

The president on social media called the meeting “very interesting” and said Tan’s “success and rise is an amazing story.”

Trump said Tan would meet with members of his Cabinet and bring suggestions to him next week on how to proceed.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick also attended the Monday meeting.

Bowser works to avoid fight with Trump but can’t disguise some anger

The D.C. mayor fielded multiple questions Monday designed to get her to say something harsh about Trump. But she didn’t take the bait for the most part, calmly laying out the city’s case that crime has been dropping steadily and Trump’s perceived state of emergency simply doesn’t match the numbers.

She repeatedly acknowledged that Trump has “broad authority” under the law and would be difficult to challenge.

The composure slipped a bit toward the end, when she dropped a reference to Trump’s “so-called emergency.”

Trump could extend takeover of DC police for 30 days, then he needs congressional approval

Trump is invoking Section 740 of the DC Home Rule Act to take over control of the city’s police department, saying in a letter to a congressional committee that the police force is needed for federal purposes.

The Republican president says in the letter sent to the House Oversight Committee Monday that he is taking the action for the purpose of “maintaining law and order in the nation’s seat of government; protecting federal buildings, national monuments, and other federal property; and ensuring conditions necessary for the orderly functioning of the federal government.”

By invoking the law, Trump is able to take over the police for more than 48 hours, but if he wants to continue for more than 30 days, both the House and Senate would need to give him a vote of approval.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries denounces Trump police takeover plan as ‘illegitimate’

Jeffries, the top House Democrat, said the administration “has consistently broken the law and violated the Constitution to further the personal and political agenda of a wannabe king.”

Jeffries denounced other Republicans as “cowardly.”

His statement did not mention any immediate actions congressional Democrats would take in response to Trump’s plan.

“The Republican Party has zero credibility on the issue of law and order,” Jeffries said. “Donald Trump doesn’t care about public safety. On his first day in office, he pardoned hundreds of violent felons—many of whom brazenly assaulted law enforcement officers on January 6. We stand with the residents of the District of Columbia and reject this unjustified power grab as illegitimate.”

DC mayor says she was unaware of Trump’s plan to take over city police

The mayor said she had “one brief call” with the White House over the weekend about activating the National Guard, so she thought Trump’s announcement would be about calling up the National Guard, not about taking over the Metropolitan Police Department.

GOP lawmaker raises concern over the White House-Nvidia deal

Rep. John Moolenaar, the Republican chair of the House Select Committee on China, spoke against the Trump administration’s deal to get a 15% cut in the sales of advanced U.S. chips to China in exchange of export licenses.

“Export controls are a frontline defense in protecting our national security, and we should not set a precedent that incentivizes the government to grant licenses to sell China technology that will enhance its AI capabilities,” the Republican from Michigan said.

Trump confirmed the deal but suggested the chips to be sold to China are “essentially old.” U.S. companies are still banned from selling their most advanced chips to China, which are critical in developing artificial intelligence.

Bowser calls Trump takeover of DC police ‘unsettling’

D.C.’s mayor said Monday that the city had reached a 30-year low in violent crime. Bowser said crime was down not just from a post-pandemic peak in 2023, but from 2019 levels prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bowser highlighted the district’s parks, schools and public transportation and said it was important for residents and visitors to know “just how beautiful our city is and how proud we are of all that we’ve accomplished here.

Bowser’s comments are a response to Trump’s announcement of his takeover of D.C. police force. Bowser said the steps were “unsettling.”

“My message to residents is this: We know that access to our democracy is tenuous. That is why you have heard me and many Washingtonians before me advocate for full statehood,” Bowser said.

DC police union backs Trump’s takeover

The union representing D.C. police officers is backing Trump’s takeover move, though it called for the federal intervention to be temporary.

Chairman Gregg Pemberton said the union agrees with the president that “immediately action is necessary” to tamp down crime.

Still, Pemberton said the city ultimately needs a police department that’s “fully staffed and supported.”

He also called for the repeal of criminal justice policies and laws passed by the City Council.

Maryland governor says Trump mobilizing National Guard in Washington ‘lacks seriousness’

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore says Trump’s decision to deploy the National Guard in D.C. is also “deeply dangerous.”

Moore, a Democrat who served as a paratrooper and captain in the U.S. Army in Afghanistan, said in a statement that the president’s actions lack both data and a battle plan.

“He is simply using honorable men and women as pawns to distract us from his policies, which continue to drive up unemployment and strip away health care and food assistance from those who need it most,” Moore said.

He urged the president to look to Maryland for ways of reducing violent crime. Moore noted that homicides in Maryland are down by more than 20% since Moore’s inauguration in January 2023.

“We await outreach from the White House if they want to have a serious conversation about public safety. But we won’t hold our breath,” he said.

Appeals court rules Trump administration must restore website tracking spending

A federal appeals court has given the Trump administration until Friday to restore a website that tracks spending appropriated by Congress.

In a Saturday ruling, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit refused to block a lower court order requiring the restoration. The court said disclosing the spending information was a “permissible exercise of legislative authority” with roots in the nation’s founding. An email to the Office of Management and Budget on Monday was not immediately returned.

The database at issue in the case first went up in July 2022. The Trump administration pulled it down in March. It argued publicly disclosing spending decisions intrudes on executive power. The administration has faced numerous lawsuits over decisions to freeze spending authorized by Congress.

The Rev. Al Sharpton blasts Trump’s DC police takeover as ‘an assault’ on Black cities

Trump’s announcement that he would deploy National Guard troop to take over the city’s police department, the Rev. Al Sharpton warned of the move’s potential long-term repercussions.

“Donald Trump was inspired to take this disgusting, dangerous, and derogatory action solely out of self interest,” the civil rights leader said in a statement. “Let’s call the inspiration for this assault on a majority Black city for what it is: another bid to distract his angry, frustrated base over his administration’s handling of the Epstein files.”

Sharpton said D.C.’s leadership must push back on the president’s use of the city and its residents as “political props.”

“We cannot, nor will we, take this lying down,” he said. “Threatening to hit if people spit, calling all Black and low-income neighborhoods slums, and throwing away the humanity of homeless people by equating them to criminals is the beginning of the end if we don’t stand up. This is the ultimate affront to justice and civil rights many of us have dedicated our lives to protecting and expanding.”

Top DC prosecutor calls police takeover ‘unlawful’

The top prosecutor in the nation’s capital is calling Trump’s move to take over the city’s police department “unnecessary and unlawful.”

District of Columbia Attorney General Brian Schwalb says crime is not an emergency levels. After a spike in 2023, violent crime hit its lowest level in decades last year and has continued to sink in 2025, he said.

The federal takeover could face a challenge in court, and Schwalb said his office is “considering all of our options.”

Trump goofs on location and date of Putin summit during briefing

Trump said a couple of times during the press briefing that he would be traveling to Russia to meet with Vladimir Putin — but their summit is taking place in Alaska.

“I’m going to Russia on Friday,” he said in one instance.

He also made an erroneous reference at another time to the summit being next week instead.

Trump jokes about the crowded media briefing room

The president began the briefing Monday by commenting on the large crowd of journalists gathered for the news conference. He said he’d never seen the media briefing room as crowded as it was. Later during the briefing, he joked they may be violating fire codes.

“I’ve done this for years now, hard to believe,” he said. “I’ve never seen this room so packed. In fact, I’m sure it’s a violation of every fire code.”

Trump said that in his meeting with Putin, he’ll review that country’s ‘parameters’ to end war

“Now I may leave and say, ‘Good luck,’ and that’ll be the end,” Trump said.

Trump on the upcoming meeting with Putin: ‘I think it’ll be good, but it might be bad’

Trump says he can see a scenario where the U.S. and Russia normalize trade relations if things go well at his meeting with Putin later this week.

“I do, yeah,” he responded when asked about whether he could see the potential ahead of the Alaska meeting.

He said “Russia has a very valuable piece of land” and mused about what would happen if “Putin would go toward business instead of war.”

As for the prospect of progress at that meeting? Trump said: “I think it’ll be good, but it might be bad.”

Trump says ‘we’ll see what happens’ with China as tariff truce deadline looms

That came during a news conference after Trump was asked whether he plans to extend his 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs on China.

The U.S.-China trade truce ends Aug. 12, and if it isn’t extended, rates on Chinese goods could climb back to over 80%.

“They’ve been dealing quite nicely,” Trump said, adding that he has a good relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Trump calls his upcoming sit-down with Putin ‘really a feel-out meeting’

The president said he was open to meeting with Putin first and then meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy or meeting with both together — though he didn’t say he’d push for a three-person meeting.

Trump said “President Putin invited me to get involved” and even said he thought it was very respectful that Putin is coming to U.S. territory for the meeting in Alaska, instead of insisting that Trump go to Russia.

He said he’ll tell Putin that it’s time to end Russia’s war with Ukraine.

Trump says he’s ‘looking at’ reclassifying marijuana as a less dangerous drug

“We’re looking at reclassification,” Trump said, adding, “It’s early.”

He said he planned to make a determination in the coming weeks.

The president said marijuana “does bad for the children,” but that easing penalties associated with it is a “very complicated subject” because some people support doing so.

Trump said he’d “heard great things having to do with medical” use of marijuana.

A potential move to remove marijuana from the list of Schedule I controlled substances to a Schedule III drug would make it significantly easier to buy and sell cannabis.

The president says other cities could be subject to the same efforts

Trump said he hopes other cities, including Los Angeles, New York and Chicago, are watching the steps he’s announced in D.C. and would take steps to “self-clean up.”

He said that if needed, the administration would take similar steps in other cities and criticized their leadership at the local and state levels.

Trump says he’s bringing in 800 National Guard members to assist with law enforcement in DC

In addition, Trump also said “we will bring in the military if it’s needed” but added, “I don’t think we’ll need it.”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth compared sending the Guard into the nation’s capital to deployments to the southern U.S. border and Los Angeles.

“We will work alongside all D.C. police and federal law enforcement,” Hegseth said.

Hegseth said the D.C. National Guard will be “flowing into the streets of Washington in the coming week.”

He also said the Pentagon was “prepared to bring in other National Guard units, other specialized units.”

Trump says he signed documents to give himself authority to crack down on crime in Washington

The president said he signed an executive order and presidential memorandum in the Oval Office before holding his news conference.

One executive order invoked presidential powers under the Home Rule Act to take over Washington’s police force.

He also signed what the administration called statutorily required notification letters to DC Mayor Bowser and relevant congressional leaders.

Trump also signed a presidential memorandum directing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to deploy the National Guard in the nation’s capital.

Trump pledges to call in federal forces to police D.C., but data shows the city is safer

President Trump wrote Sunday that homeless people should be moved out of Washington, D.C., “IMMEDIATELY” and relocated “FAR” away, as he hints at more aggressive policing in the nation’s capital — and suggests putting the city under federal control.

The Trump administration announced last week it had boosted the presence of federal law enforcement in D.C., after the alleged assault of a former Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, staffer. In a series of Truth Social posts over the weekend, the president suggested he may take further action, announcing a Monday morning press conference he said would “involve ending the Crime, Murder, and Death in our Nation’s Capital.”

Mr. Trump’s possible next steps remain unclear.

“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,” Mr. Trump wrote in a Sunday morning Truth Social post accompanied by photos of roadside encampments and garbage.

“There will be no ‘MR. NICE GUY,'” the president continued. “We want our Capital BACK.”

Hours later, Mr. Trump wrote: “Before the tents, squalor, filth, and Crime, it was the most beautiful Capital in the World. It will soon be that again.”

Last week, the president also threatened to “exert my powers” to put Washington under federal control. A spokeswoman with the FBI Washington Field Office on Sunday confirmed to CBS News that its agents are “participating in the increased federal law enforcement presence in Washington, D.C.”

Mr. Trump has floated the idea of federalizing D.C. in the past. His latest call to take over the city was driven by an alleged attack on ex-DOGE employee Edward Coristine during a weekend carjacking attempt. Mr. Trump posted about the incident on Tuesday and appeared to share a photo of Coristine. Writing that crime in the capital is “totally out of control,” he suggested a federal takeover of Washington if the city’s local government “doesn’t get its act together, and quickly.”

The president likely doesn’t have the authority to fully federalize the capital city — unless Congress repeals a 1973 law that gave the city’s residents the power to elect their own mayor and city council. He can temporarily take over the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department if he “determines that special conditions of an emergency nature exist which require the use of the Metropolitan Police force for federal purposes,” but it’s not clear that the legal conditions are met.

Mr. Trump also said Sunday that his press conference will focus on “Cleanliness and the General Physical Renovation and Condition of our once beautiful and well maintained Capital,” citing a pricey Federal Reserve office renovation project.

Violent crime is dropping in D.C.

Violent crime in D.C. has been declining for the last year and a half after spiking in 2023, according to local police data. So far this year, robberies have dropped by 29% and overall violent crime is down 26%, as of Aug. 6. Last year, violent crime in the capital city hit its lowest level in more than 30 years, the Justice Department said.

Meanwhile, about 5,138 people are homeless in D.C., down 9% year-over-year, according to a tally conducted earlier this year by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments. That’s higher than 2022 and 2023’s figures, which put the number of homeless people below 5,000, but lower than the more than 6,000 homeless people who were reported throughout the 2010s.

Mr. Trump has pressed cities like D.C. to remove homeless people from the streets. He signed an executive order last month telling the Justice Department to “reverse judicial precedents and end consent decrees that limit state and local governments’ ability to commit individuals on the streets who are a risk to themselves or others.” It also directed federal agencies to prioritize grants to cities that “enforce prohibitions on open illicit drug use, urban camping and loitering.” The move drew criticism from advocacy groups like the National Homelessness Law Center.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser told MSNBC on Sunday she isn’t sure what the president’s Monday announcement will be but she suspects “he is surging federal law enforcement.”

Bowser spoke to the cable network before Mr. Trump’s most recent posts on Sunday, which included some criticism of the mayor. He wrote on Truth Social that Bowser “is a good person who has tried, but she has been given many chances, and the Crime Numbers get worse, and the City only gets dirtier and less attractive.”

The mayor defended local officials’ handling of crime in the city, saying on MSNBC the police and its federal partners “have spent over the last two years driving down violent crime in this city.” She added that the city does need federal assistance, pointing to the fact that D.C. prosecutors work for the Justice Department and local judges are nominated by the president.

“We are not experiencing a spike in crime,” Bowser said. “In fact, we’re watching our crime numbers go down.”

contributed to this report.

Donald Trump was preparing to deploy up to 1,000 National Guard troops to flood the streets of Washington, DC as federal agents began making arrests on Sunday night.

Trump was expected to announce the deployment during a White House press conference on Monday as he pushes for a federal takeover of the city amid a crackdown on crime.

‘Be prepared! There will be no “MR. NICE GUY.” We want our Capital BACK,’ Trump warned on Truth Social.

Photos taken late on Sunday night showed several federal authorities working in coordination with one another including the FBI and Border Patrol.

In one instance, a man was detained by police along U Street in the capital as FBI and Border Patrol agents assisted.

A short distance away Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) agents could also be seen standing guard in Dupont Circle.

It came as Trump deployed 120 FBI agents to work alongside DC police and other federal law enforcement officers working the night shift in the city.

The National Guard mobilisation was expected on Monday, as US officials told NBC4 Washington that Trump was considering deploying 1,000 troops.

The White House declined to confirm details but signaled Trump is prepared to act.

FBI and Border Patrol officers arrest a man along the U Street corridor late on Sunday night in Washington, DC

The man, dressed in a pink shirt and grey shorts, was handcuffed while at least nine people from various agencies stood around him

Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) agents stand guard in Dupont Circle as part of a federal law enforcement deployment to the US capital

‘We won’t get ahead of the President on any potential announcements,’ one official told NBC News, ‘but the President has been clear that all options are on the table when it comes to making DC safe again.’

Trump has been suggesting the federal crackdown for days, using his Truth Social platform to promise a major announcement on Monday about his anti-crime plan.

‘It has become one of the most dangerous cities anywhere in the World,’ Trump wrote on Sunday. ‘It will soon be one of the safest!!!’

The president has likened his plans for DC as similar to his administration’s aggressive crackdown against illegal immigration at the southern border.

‘I’m going to make our Capital safer and more beautiful than it ever was before,’ he said while pledging to ‘immediately clear out the city’s homeless population and take swift action against crime.’

‘It’s all going to happen very fast, just like the Border,’ Trump posted.

‘We’re going to have to federalize DC and run it the way it’s supposed to be run,’ Trump declared on Tuesday night on Truth Social.

Speaking to reporters the following day he added, ‘The rate of crime, the rate of muggings, killings and everything else – we’re not going to let it… and that includes bringing in the National Guard, maybe very quickly, too.’

Violent crime is down 26 per cent compared with this time in 2024, according to DC police data.

A man is seen interacting with Border Patrol and FBI agents along U Street before he was later arrested

More that a dozen agents, mainly from the FBI could be seen on Sunday night during the arrest

Trump has deployed 120 FBI agents to work alongside DC police and other federal law enforcement officers in the nation’s capital working the night shift

Trump has repeatedly suggested that the rule of Washington could be returned to federal authorities and on Sunday night the FBI, police and Border Patrol were all working together

President Donald Trump pledged on Sunday to evict homeless people from the nation’s capital and jail criminals, despite Washington’s mayor arguing there is no current spike in crime

Trump’s Truth Social post also included pictures of tents and DC streets with garbage on them

DC Mayor Muriel Bowser called the city’s violent crime rate the lowest in 30 years and said Trump is ‘very aware’ of the capital’s progress after a recent Oval Office meeting

If Trump signs the order, it would mark one of the largest peacetime Guard deployments in the capital in recent memory.

But during a Sunday interview, the Democratic mayor of Washington, DC, Muriel Bowser, insisted the capital was ‘not experiencing a crime spike.’

‘It is true that we had a terrible spike in crime in 2023, but this is not 2023,’ Bowser said on MSNBC’s The Weekend.

Bowser said she believed the president was exaggerating the need for troops to be deployed onto city streets – mainly because the District is not experiencing the crime spike Trump suggests.

She explained how she spoke to Trump a few weeks ago in the Oval Office of the White House during which time the pair discussed crime in the capital.

‘The President is very aware of our efforts,’ Bowser said. ‘He established a task force, which our police department and agencies support with information and anything else they ask us for…it is always the President’s prerogative to use federal law enforcement or the National Guard.’

Bowser suggested she had already anticipated Trump’s next move.

The deployment of 120 FBI agents working the night shift started on Sunday as they flooded the streets of the capital

FBI agents walk along the U Street corridor as part of a federal law enforcement deployment on Sunday night

FBI and Border Patrol officers are seen walking the streets in the nation’s capital on August 10

On Sunday night Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) agents were standing guard in Dupont Circle. President Donald Trump ordered an increased presence of federal law enforcement to Washington, DC in an effort to curb crime

Trump has already demonstrated he is not averse to deploy the National Guard should the need arise. Pictured, members of the California National Guard are seen in downtown LA in June

Last week, resident Trump posted a photo of a man who was allegedly beat up by several people in Washington, DC

‘It is clear that the President, and I suspect that his announcement is that he is surging federal law enforcement, which he’s talked about, and he may talk about even larger numbers or longer periods of time he’s interested in being in neighborhoods and fighting crime in neighborhoods, and to the extent that officers know our laws’, Bowser said.

‘That officers work in community and work with prosecutors to build good cases and establish a presence and work with local officials who are you know, the expert is in policing and making arrests. That’s what we’re waiting to see’, the mayor added.

Bowser cannot activate the National Guard herself, but she can submit a request to the Pentagon.

Earlier on Sunday, aside from the crime, Trump blasted the homelessness that blights the streets of DC and has ensured 120 FBI agents will now to work alongside DC police and other federal law enforcement officers in the nation’s capital – for at least the next week.

‘The Homeless have to move out, IMMEDIATELY. We will give you places to stay, but FAR from the Capital,’ Trump posted on Truth Social. ‘The Criminals, you don’t have to move out. We’re going to put you in jail where you belong.’

Two US officials said a final decision was still to be made by Trump but the troops were prepared to deploy.

Trump posted photos from the motorcade including some of roadside tents used by homeless

Trump claims crime has run rampant on the streets of Washington DC

The assignment to place the FBI on patrol is a very different task from their usual roles at the bureau of counterintelligence, public corruption and other divisions.

Indeed, the majority of agents do not have training on how to deal with traffic stops on the streets and other potentially dangerous encounters.

Agents will also come in from outside Washington including Philadelphia to help with the boost in staffing.

The Trump administration has not asked the DC police department on how the FBI agents should be deployed, reports The Washington Post.

As part of his capital cleanup, Trump went on to post online how he plans to evict homeless people from the nation’s capital and jail criminals, despite Washington’s mayor arguing there is no current spike in crime.

The White House declined to explain what legal authority Trump would use to evict people from Washington.

The Republican president controls only federal land and buildings in the city.

Trump is planning to hold a press conference on Monday to ‘stop violent crime in Washington, DC’

Other photos taken around the area sees garbage strewn along the side of busy highways

The pictures looked to have been taken out of the window from Trump’s motorcade

One photo sees a homeless person lying on the steps outside one of the capital’s municipal buildings

Trump posted a lengthy and rambling tweet suggesting how he would improve the capital

It was not clear whether he would announce more details about his eviction plan then.

Trump’s Truth Social post included pictures of tents and DC streets with some garbage on them.

According to the Community Partnership, an organization working to reduce homelessness in DC, on any given night there are 3,782 single persons experiencing homelessness in the city of about 700,000 people.

Most of the homeless individuals are in emergency shelters or transitional housing. About 800 are considered unsheltered or ‘on the street,’ the organization says.

A White House official said on Friday that more federal law enforcement officers were being deployed in the city following a violent attack on Trump staffer Edward Coristine aka ‘Big Balls’ that angered the president.

‘Agents from the FBI Washington Field Office continue to participate in the increased federal law enforcement presence in DC, which includes assisting our law enforcement partners,’ the FBI said in a statement Sunday morning.

FBI agents have begun to flood the streets of the capital as part of the Trump administration’s latest move to impose its will on the nation’s capital

A person asks for help along the Rock Creek Parkway last month in Washington, DC

A person sleeps on a bench on July 25 in Washington, DC. President Trump signed an executive order making it easier for cities and states to remove homeless people from the street

A woman braids her hair at a busy intersection in Washington, DC last month. Trump’s executive order makes it easier for cities and states to remove homeless people from the streets and move them to treatment centers

An unhoused person looks though their belongings in Freedom Plaza last month

A person asks for help in Washington, DC

Donald Trump is weighing the deployment of as many as 1,000 National Guard troops to flood the streets of Washington, DC as the president threatens a federal takeover of the capital as part of a response to violent crime. Pictured, the National Guard stand on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in June 2020 following the death of George Floyd

‘We have spent over the last two years driving down violent crime in this city, driving it down to a 30-year low.’

The city’s police department reports that violent crime in the first seven months of 2025 was down by 26 per cent in DC compared with last year while overall crime was down about 7 per cent.

Bowser said Trump is ‘very aware’ of the city’s work with federal law enforcement after meeting with Trump several weeks ago in the Oval Office.

The US Congress has control of DC’s budget after the district was established in 1790 with land from neighboring Virginia and Maryland, but resident voters elect a mayor and city council.

For Trump to take over the city, Congress likely would have to pass a law revoking the law that established local elected leadership, which Trump would have to sign.

On Sunday, Bowser noted the president’s ability to call up the National Guard if he wanted, a tactic the administration used recently in Los Angeles after immigration protests over the objections of local officials.

The Brief Police released a photo of a person of interest. Two teens were arrested after allegedly attacking Edward Coristine. A $10,000 reward is offered for tips leading to an arrest.

D.C. police have released a photo of a person of interest in the violent attack and attempted carjacking of Edward Coristine, a former official in the Trump administration known by the nickname “Big Balls.”

Attack details

The incident happened around 3 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 3, in the 1400 block of Swann Street in the Logan Circle neighborhood.

Police say a group of teens approached Coristine and a woman and demanded his vehicle. Coristine pushed the woman into the car for safety before he was assaulted. Nearby officers stepped in, and the suspects fled.

Two 15-year-olds from Hyattsville were arrested and charged with unarmed carjacking. Coristine was treated at the scene.

READ MORE: ‘Big Balls’ beaten in DC: Trump warns District after Edward Coristine attack

Person of interest

Investigators released an image of the person of interest captured by cameras. A reward of up to $10,000 is being offered for information leading to an arrest.

Anyone with information is asked to call police at 202-727-9099 or text tips to 50411.

The attack drew attention after Trump criticized crime in the District, calling it “out of control” in a social media post.

READ MORE: Trump once again threatens DC takeover, saying he may deploy National Guard