President Trump issued a warning that a “complete and total federal takeover of the city” could occur if Washington, D.C. continues to disseminate what he claims are “false and highly inaccurate crime figures.”
“Washington, D.C. is safe once more. The crowds are returning, the spirit is high, and our D.C. National Guard and police are performing exceptionally well. They are present in force, and are not being lenient,” he stated in the early hours of Friday morning. “As difficult as it is to say, there were no murders this week for the first time in memory.”
Trump, who had earlier paid a visit to the police and military on-guard in D.C., went on to say that Mayor Bowser must “immediately cease” publishing the reports or “bad things will happen,” such as a full federal takeover.
Bowser and other officials, including D.C.’s Attorney General Brian Schwalb, have strongly rejected Trump’s characterization of D.C. as the “most unsafe city” in the U.S.
On August 18, a week after he announced the federal intervention, Trump—who maintains the government intervention was prompted by “crime, bloodshed, bedlam, and squalor” in the capital—claimed that city officials had presented “fake crime numbers” to “create a false illusion of safety.”
In January, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Columbia, reported that crime in the city was at a 30-year low—a statistic contradicted when Trump announced his emergency federal takeover.
Furthermore, the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) issued a statement on Thursday, indicating that violent crime in D.C. had decreased by 27% in 2025 compared to the preceding year.
This development follows reports that the Department of Justice (DOJ) has launched an investigation into the crime data. Trump himself stated that D.C. was under “federal scrutiny” for publishing what he has deemed to be “fake” statistics.
During his personal visit on Thursday, Trump visited a Park Police Facility in D.C. Approximately 300 officers from various U.S. agencies, including the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), U.S. Marshals, and the National Guard, convened outside the facility while Trump delivered his remarks.
He informed law enforcement officials that crime numbers “are way down” subsequent to the federal takeover, which is scheduled to continue for 30 days from its commencement.
“It’s like a different place, it’s a different city… I’ve never received so many phone calls thanking me for what we’ve accomplished in Washington D.C.,” Trump remarked.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, who accompanied the President on the streets of D.C., asserted after the visit that no murders had been documented in the capital “because of the presence of law enforcement.”
Bondi announced on Thursday that 630 arrests have occurred and 86 illegal firearms seized in D.C. since federal officers were stationed throughout the city. Reportedly, 251 of these arrests involved immigrants residing in the country unlawfully.
A contentious legal dispute has emerged subsequent to the Trump Administration’s intervention in D.C. On the evening of August 14, Bondi issued a directive appointing Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) chief Terry Cole as the capital’s “Emergency Police Commissioner.”
D.C. officials resisted the motion, with Schwalb dispatching a letter to Mayor Bowser that same night, labeling Bondi’s directive “unlawful” and advising Bowser that she had “no legal obligation to comply with it.”
Schwalb subsequently filed a lawsuit against the Trump Administration on August 15, asserting he was “challenging the federal government’s unlawful attempt to take over the District of Columbia’s Metropolitan Police Department” in an endeavor “to ensure that control of MPD remains with the Mayor, the Chief, and the people of the District of Columbia.”
“By declaring a hostile takeover of MPD, the Administration is misusing its limited, temporary authority under the Home Rule Act, encroaching on the District’s right to self-governance and jeopardizing the safety of D.C. residents and visitors,” Schwalb affirmed in a statement accompanying the lawsuit.
In an emergency court hearing presided over by District Judge Ana Reyes hours after the lawsuit was lodged, the DOJ withdrew its directive, no longer aiming to appoint Cole as D.C.’s interim police commissioner.
Bondi confirmed that she had “issued a new directive to Mayor Bowser requiring MPD to provide the services found necessary by my designee, administrator Terry Cole, to comply fully and completely with federal immigration law and authorities, regardless of any policies MPD might otherwise possess.”
In response to the lawsuit, Bondi also accused Schwalb of hindering “efforts to enhance public safety in Washington, D.C.”