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President Donald Trump on Monday invoked a decades-old provision of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act to take temporary control of the city’s police force, a move he framed as a “historic action” to restore public safety but that opponents denounced as executive overreach.
Speaking at a White House press conference, Trump said he was employing Section 740 of the 1973 Home Rule Act, which allows the president to federalize the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) under emergency conditions.
“This is Liberation Day in D.C., and we’re going to take our capital back,” Trump declared. “We will restore law, order and public safety.”
Trump also pledged to deploy the National Guard in a strategy he likened to tactics used during protests in Los Angeles, saying Washington had been “overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals, roving mobs of wild youth, drugged-out maniacs and homeless people.”
Explainer: What is Section 740 of the D.C. Home Rule Act?
Section 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act gives the U.S. president temporary authority to take direct control of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) under emergency circumstances.
Key points:
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Applies only to MPD: It does not cover federal law enforcement agencies or other local D.C. security bodies.
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Emergency trigger: The president must determine that “special conditions of an emergency nature” exist that require the MPD for federal purposes.
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Duration limit: The president is only permitted to take control of the police department for a maximum of 48 hours without alerting Congress, the act states.
But, if the president provides a written letter to the ranking members “of the Committees on the District of Columbia of the Senate and the House of Representatives,” he may continue to exercise control of the police department for 30 days.
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Mayor sidelined: During the takeover, the D.C. mayor loses authority over the police force, which is placed under the control of the U.S. Attorney General or a designated official.
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Historical use: Invocations of Section 740 are rare. Past discussions of its use have centered on major riots, large-scale protests, or security crises in the capital.
Background:
The Home Rule Act of 1973 granted D.C. residents the right to elect a mayor and city council, establishing limited self-governance starting in 1975. However, D.C. is not a state, and Congress retains ultimate authority over its laws and budget. The home rule system can be altered—or even abolished—by a simple congressional vote.
Crime data tells a mixed story
Despite Trump’s stark portrayal, official statistics suggest the capital’s crime trends are improving. According to MPD data, violent crime in 2025 has dropped 26% year-over-year, with homicides down 12% and robberies down 28%. Total reported crime is down 7%.
In 2024, violent crime fell 35% from the year prior, marking the lowest level in more than three decades, the Justice Department reported. Still, D.C.’s homicide rate remains among the highest in large U.S. cities, trailing only St. Louis, New Orleans and Detroit, according to the Center for Public Safety Initiatives at Rochester Institute of Technology.
FBI Director Kash Patel acknowledged the progress, saying at the press conference, “The murder rates are plummeting. We are now able to report that the murder rate is on track to be the lowest in modern U.S. history.”
Democratic lawmakers criticized Trump’s action as unnecessary and politically motivated, warning it could strain relations between the city and the federal government.
