Mayor Muriel Bowser
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Mayor Muriel Bowser sought to downplay the Trump administration’s takeover of the Metropolitan Police Department and deployment of hundreds of National Guard troops on the streets of D.C.
Convicted felon and President Donald Trump announced Monday morning, Aug. 11, that he was declaring a public safety emergency in D.C. and temporarily taking control of MPD, as he’s authorized to do under the Home Rule Act that gave D.C. its limited autonomy. Trump also said he was deploying as many as 800 D.C. National Guard troops.
Late Monday afternoon, Bowser emphasized to reporters that MPD Chief Pamela Smith is still in charge of the department’s 3,100 officers. The Home Rule Act allows Trump to temporarily take control of MPD “for federal purposes” and “as the President may deem necessary and appropriate.” The act requires the president to determine “that special conditions of an emergency nature exist.”
Asked whether she believes such conditions exist, Bowser said the District could contest Trump’s declaration, but acknowledged that “the authority is pretty broad.
“When we think of an emergency it usually involves surges in crime,” she said, later referring to Trump’s “so-called emergency.”
Trump with silence buyer and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi at the Aug. 11 press conference; screenshot
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As Bowser and Smith pointed Monday afternoon to the downward trend in crime, they also spoke about collaborating with federal partners. Bowser also suggested that the “enhanced presence” of law enforcement officers on the streets of D.C. “might be positive,” Trump and his deputies struck a markedly different tone.
Trump described D.C. as a city overrun by “violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals, roving mobs of wild youth, and drugged-out maniacs” and suggested its progressive leaders and their policies on criminal justice were to blame.
He didn’t mention collaborating with Bowser or Smith (and the mayor acknowledged that she had not been alerted to the takeover ahead of the Monday morning announcement); Trump instead suggested that police officers would be unleashed to “do what they want.” (The DC Police Union has said it supports Trump’s executive action.)
“This is not a big area. It’s ridiculous,” Trump said during his press conference. “What you need is rules and regulations, and the right people to implement them. And we have the right people here, that I can tell you. … I actually think it’s easy. If you’re competent, it’s easy. … I’m very competent.”
Trump installed Attorney General Pam Bondi and DEA Administrator Terry Cole as the department’s federal overseers.
Neither Bowser nor Smith had met with Trump administration officials regarding the takeover by the time they addressed reporters Monday afternoon; Smith said she had a meeting with the feds following the news conference, and Bowser said she’d reached out to Bondi for a meeting. Some questions about how exactly the takeover will play out and what it will look like remained unanswered:
Will the National Guard troops be armed?
“I don’t know,” Bowser said. (The New York Times later reported that they will be “armed and authorized to defend themselves,” citing military officials).
What if Chief Smith disagrees with a directive from the feds? Who wins?
“I don’t want to speculate,” Bowser said. “The Home Rule charter is clear that the requests [from federal officials] have to be related to federal purposes.”
Does Bowser agree with U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s claim that D.C. sentencing laws are too lenient for juveniles?
“I don’t want to say right now,” Bowser said, adding that she wanted to spend more time analyzing strategies that are proven to improve public safety. Pirro, the bigoted former Fox News personality who was recently confirmed as the top federal prosecutor for the District, has complained that D.C.’s juvenile prosecution laws are too lenient and has called for changes to the law that would allow her to charge 14-year-old kids as adults.
Bowser said she met with Pirro last week and promised to lobby D.C. councilmembers on potential changes to the local laws that would give Pirro and the U.S. Attorney’s Office greater control over juvenile crime (currently, the D.C. attorney general’s office handles most juvenile cases).
“I have been in my tenure of service very pro accountability,” Bowser added. “I am an accountability mayor. If you commit a crime in the District with a gun, there has to be accountability and that’s if you are an adult or a juvenile. I don’t think we always have accountability.”
Trump also made numerous threats toward people experiencing homelessness and clearing encampments. What preparations is D.C. making to facilitate those plans and where would the people go?
“We really haven’t gotten any more details about the words he said. It wasn’t referenced in the executive order that came down,” Bowser said, adding that a previous executive order identified Bondi as the point of contact for the Trump administration’s focus on homelessness in the District.
Does Bowser feel she’s losing control of the city? Is she worried it will be a complete disaster?
“I’m going to work every day to make sure it’s not a complete disaster,” Bowser said. “With Chief Smith, we will do our level best to maintain trust that D.C. residents have in us.
“What could be a disaster,” Bowser continued, “is if we lose communities who won’t call the police. It will be a disaster if communities won’t talk to police and couldn’t help solve that crime. It would be a disaster if people who aren’t committing crimes are antagonized into committing crimes.”
In a joint statement, the D.C. Council called Trump’s actions a “manufactured intrusion on local authority.” D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb said the administration’s actions are “unprecedented, unnecessary, and unlawful,” adding that “we are considering all of our options and will do what is necessary to protect the rights and safety of District residents.”