Trump signed EO 14333 federalizing DC Metropolitan Police under Home Rule Act; deploys 800 National Guard to city at 30-year crime low

On August 11, 2025, President Trump signed Executive Order 14333 declaring a public safety emergency in Washington, D.C. and invoking Section 740 of the D.C. Home Rule Act to transfer operational control of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPDC) from the elected D.C. government to federal authority — the first use of that provision in the law's nearly 50-year history. Simultaneously, Trump deployed 800 D.C. National Guard troops and redirected FBI, DEA, ATF, ICE, and HSI agents to patrol alongside U.S. Park Police, over the objection of D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser.

The deployment came despite D.C. recording its lowest crime levels in 30 years, with both violent crime and property crime declining in 2024–2025. The EO cited an undefined "crime emergency" without identifying a specific triggering incident, and city and federal statistics did not support the characterization. Section 740 of the Home Rule Act — the provision Trump invoked — had never previously been used by any administration since the act's passage in 1973.

The NAACP Legal Defense Fund and civil liberties organizations challenged the deployment, arguing that federalizing a locally elected government's police force bypassed democratic accountability and the D.C. Home Rule Act's own framework for local governance. A federal judge subsequently ruled portions of the deployment unlawful, and a Senate minority staff report later estimated the deployment cost $332 million through February 2026 — exceeding D.C.'s entire annual police budget.