Trump's D.C. emergency, police takeover show a troubling pattern

President Donald Trump's decision to focus on crime and quality of life in the District of Columbia, where the federal government plays a large role, could be beneficial even though city leaders didn't ask for any help. But there's a long road from a news conference calling the nation's capital city a "cesspool of crime" to achieving meaningful change for the area's residents.

Trump, wielding his favorite new power, commanding the National Guard, has deployed soldiers and armored vehicles to Washington tourist spots, known as "presence patrols." The Guard will supplement the well-trained Metropolitan Police Department, which retains the legal authority to make arrests. The FBI has ordered its local D.C. field office to hit the streets. These moves come despite an overall decline in violent crime but after a former DOGE employee was targeted in a carjacking incident last weekend. Too bad Trump saw no urgent need for the National Guard on Jan.6, 2021, when his supporters were attacking the Capitol.

So far, homeless encampments have been torn down, but there are few specifics on what is to be done next to end one of D.C.'s intractable problems. Trump's posting on social media that he was ordering the homeless "to leave IMMEDIATELY" isn't a long-term plan.

Trump on Monday issued an executive order declaring a "crime emergency" in D.C., which allows him to federalize the local police force for 30 days. But on Wednesday, the president said he wants to head D.C.'s chain of command for a longer time and will ask Congress to approve a new law giving him such power. He dared "soft on crime" Democrats to oppose it. The political rationale for his action was also clear when, earlier in the week, he said New York, Chicago or Oakland — all Democratic strongholds — could be next on his list for an emergency crime intervention.

Bluster or not, there is a troubling pattern emerging. 

June's deployment of 700 U.S. Marine and the 4,000 National Guard troops in Los Angeles to quell anti-ICE protests and this week's events may be the foreshadowing of greater use of the military in domestic law enforcement. The administration has at the ready plans to deploy specialized National Guard response teams, known as a Domestic Civil Disturbance Quick Reaction Force, trained to deal with civil unrest. Will any demonstration against the current administration be considered a "disturbance" warranting a military response?

It's unclear whether Trump's latest moves really are more presence than policy and will be forgotten when his attention fades --- much like Gov. Kathy Hochul's March 2024 deployment of the state's National Guard to the New York City subway system after a conductor was slashed and transit workers protested. Crime fighting and the perception of public safety will always be intertwined with politics. Using the federal military, however, to usurp local control, is all about power. "This will go further," Trump said on Monday. That's a different kind of emergency.