D.C. Police Union Supports Trump’s Federal Takeover Of Capital Law Enforcement

The police union representing more than 3,000 officers in Washington, D.C. has thrown its support behind President Donald Trump’s decision to take federal control of the Metropolitan Police Department, saying “immediate action is necessary” to restore public safety in the crime-plagued capital.

In a statement Monday, the D.C. Police Union backed Trump’s move, calling crime in the city “spiraling out of control” and agreeing that federal intervention is needed at least temporarily. “The ultimate goal,” the union said, “is empowering a fully staffed and supported MPD to protect our city effectively.”

Trump declared Monday “Liberation Day in D.C.,” vowing to rescue the nation’s capital from “crime, bloodshed, bedlam, and squalor.” His plan places the MPD under the Justice Department’s authority, with DEA Administrator Terry Cole taking the lead. To reinforce the city’s depleted ranks, Trump is deploying 800 National Guard troops to patrol the streets.

The union’s endorsement stands in sharp contrast to the outrage from D.C.’s Democratic leadership.

• Mayor Muriel Bowser called the action “unsettling and unprecedented.”

• The Democrat-controlled city council dismissed the move as a “manufactured intrusion on local authority.”

• City leaders insisted violent crime is at a “30-year low,” despite federal data showing otherwise.

The White House countered that D.C. is facing one of the worst homicide rates in the country 27.3 per 100,000 residents in 2024 nearly six times higher than New York City and worse than Atlanta, Chicago, and even Compton. Officials also noted D.C.’s murder rate surpassed those of Havana, Cuba, and Islamabad, Pakistan.

Adding to the controversy are allegations that D.C. police leadership has “cooked the books” to artificially lower reported crime rates. A separate investigation is underway into whether statistics were altered to mislead the public.

Trump’s decision to invoke Section 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act gives him clear legal authority to federalize law enforcement in the capital something Bowser herself admitted. The president insists the move is necessary because local leaders have failed to crack down on violent crime, leaving residents trapped in unsafe neighborhoods.

The police union’s support underscores the deep frustration among rank-and-file officers, many of whom say they have been hamstrung by city policies that prioritize political narratives over public safety.

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