National Guard Deployed As Trump Begins Federal Crime Crackdown In D.C.

National Guard troops rolled into Washington, D.C., on Tuesday as part of President Donald Trump’s aggressive new crackdown on violent crime in the nation’s capital a move that has placed the city’s police force under temporary federal control.

Footage showed Guard vehicles leaving the D.C. Armory and stationed along city streets as pedestrians passed by. The exact number of deployed troops remains unclear, but their arrival follows Trump’s invocation of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act on Monday, granting him authority to take control of the Metropolitan Police Department for up to 30 days.

Mayor Muriel Bowser, meeting with federal officials to discuss strategy, acknowledged she has little choice but to adapt. “What I’m focused on is the federal surge and how to make the most of the additional officer support that we have,” she said, noting that MPD Chief Pamela Smith will coordinate both federal law enforcement and the National Guard presence.

The first day of the operation delivered immediate results:

• 23 arrests for crimes including murder, weapons violations, lewd acts, and stalking.

• Six illegal firearms seized.

• Suspects with active warrants for homicide and serious gun offenses taken off the streets.

“These are just a few examples we are just getting started,” FBI Director Kash Patel wrote on X. “When you let good cops be cops they can clean up our streets and do it fast. More to come. Your nation’s Capital WILL be safe again.”

The Trump administration’s initiative comes amid mounting frustration over D.C.’s crime rate, which the White House has highlighted as one of the highest in the nation. Federal officials say the surge will continue in the coming days, targeting violent offenders, illegal weapons, and organized criminal activity.

Bowser, who previously blasted the move as “unsettling and unprecedented,” conceded Monday that under the Home Rule Act, the president’s legal authority to take over the city’s police force is clear. For now, federal agents, National Guard troops, and local officers will work side-by-side in an effort to deliver the president’s promise: making America’s capital safe again.

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