President Donald Trump on Monday placed the Washington, D.C., police force under federal control and announced the deployment of National Guard troops to restore “law and order” in the nation’s capital.
The swift action follows a high-profile incident that drew attention from Elon Musk, who posted about a DOGE employee being beaten by a group while attempting to help a young woman under attack in the city.
Trump said his administration will move to change statutes related to cash bail in cities such as New York, Chicago and Washington, D.C., where cash bail was largely removed in 1992.
The president called D.C.’s no-cash-bail policy “a disaster.”
“We’re going to change the statute and get rid of some of the other things, and we’ll count on the Republicans in Congress and Senate to vote,” Trump vowed. “Cashless bail, watch what we do with that.”
As part of the immediate response, Trump announced that 800 National Guardsmen will be deployed to support local law enforcement, with the possibility of sending “much more if necessary.”
The president said it was “embarrassing” to address crime in the capital ahead of his planned meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday in Alaska.
“It’s embarrassing for me to be up here. You know I’m going to see Putin,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “I don’t like being up here talking about how unsafe and how dirty and disgusting this once beautiful capital was.”
Pete Hegseth, speaking alongside the president, pledged strong backing for law enforcement.
“We will work alongside all D.C. police and federal law enforcement to ensure this city is safe. This city is beautiful, and as I always say about President Trump, to the troops, he has their back. And my message to the National Guard and federal law enforcement in Washington is we have your back as well. Be tough. Be strong. We’re right behind you,” said Hegseth.
D.C. Attorney General Jeanine Piro — confirmed to her post on Aug. 2 — voiced frustration at what she called lenient treatment for violent juvenile offenders.
“I see too much violent crime being committed by young punks who think that they can get together in gangs and crews and beat the hell out of you or anyone else,” Piro said.
She criticized the family court system, where juveniles are prosecuted, for focusing on rehabilitation over accountability.
“I can’t arrest them. I can’t prosecute them,” she said. “They go to family court, and they get to do yoga and arts and crafts. Enough, it changes today.”
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