GOP bill would give Trump extended authority over D.C. police

House Republicans are moving to give President Donald Trump the tools he needs to finish the job of restoring order in Washington, D.C. and it starts with ending the 30-day time limit on his federal control of the city’s failing police department.

On Wednesday, Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN) unveiled the “Capital Emergency Control Act of 2025,” a bill that would amend the D.C. Home Rule Act and grant the president the ability to extend his federal authority over D.C.'s Metropolitan Police Department in 30-day increments for as long as necessary. The bill keeps Congress informed, while removing bureaucratic handcuffs that currently force an end to the emergency after just one month unless a joint resolution is passed.

“President Trump has rightly declared a national emergency in Washington, D.C. a city its own government has surrendered to chaos,” Ogles said. “Congress must defend the President, and our Country.”

Trump invoked Section 740 of the D.C. Home Rule Act on Monday, seizing temporary federal control of the city’s law enforcement apparatus after another violent weekend that included the city’s 100th homicide of the year. Under the law, the president can federalize D.C. police for 30 days but after that, continued control requires congressional approval.

Now, Republicans are aiming to put real teeth behind Trump’s crackdown on crime.

What Ogles’ bill would do:

• Remove the one-time, 30-day restriction

• Allow rolling extensions in 30-day periods as long as oversight committees are notified

• Preserve Congress’s ability to vote to end the president’s authority at any time

Since Trump’s takeover began, dozens of arrests have been made, and federal agents have joined the National Guard to patrol and clean up neighborhoods plagued by violent crime, drug abuse, and gang activity.

While top GOP leaders including Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) have voiced full support, Democrats are scrambling to block the effort. D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) lashed out at the bill, portraying it as an affront to “self-governance” and accusing Republicans of imposing “additional indignities” on the district.

But Ogles made it clear: this isn’t about D.C. pride it’s about protecting American lives in the city that houses the seat of our government.

“The radically progressive regime of D.C. Mayor Bowser has left our nation’s Capital in crime-ridden shambles,” Ogles said earlier this year. “Washington is now known for its homicides, rapes, drug overdoses, violence, theft, and homelessness.”

That wasn’t hyperbole. D.C. saw a 35% spike in homicides in 2023, along with record-breaking carjackings, many of them targeting government officials, staffers, and even foreign diplomats.

And while Democrats continue to cry “racism” and “colonialism,” Republicans are focused on fixing what years of left-wing policies have broken.

This bill follows Ogles’ earlier proposal the BOWSER Act, which seeks to repeal the D.C. Home Rule Act altogether and put Congress fully back in charge of the capital city. Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) has introduced the same legislation in the Senate.

With Trump back in the White House, restoring law and order isn’t just a slogan it’s a mandate.

The time for excuses and symbolic leadership is over. The American people are demanding safe streets and real accountability and if it means stripping control from a failed Democrat-run city council, so be it.

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