President Trump has announced that the federal government will take over the District of Columbia’s police department and that National Guard troops will be deployed to the streets of the capital. The move was ostensibly to combat crime, but the district’s crime statistics have been trending down in recent years. Earlier this year, the DOJ posted that violent crime in DC was at a 30-year low.
Calling it “liberation day,” Trump said that he was invoking Section 740 of the DC Home Rule Act. Section 740, “ Emergency Control of Police,” states, “Whenever the President of the United States determines that special conditions of an emergency nature exist which require the use of the Metropolitan Police force for Federal purposes, he may direct the Mayor to provide him, and the Mayor shall provide, such services of the Metropolitan Police force as the President may deem necessary and appropriate.” The law further states that there is a 48-hour limitation on what is effectively quasi-martial law unless the president provides a written explanation to Congress.
There is certain to be a spirited debate on whether declining crime rates constitute a “special condition” that warrants a federal takeover of the District, but the bottom line seems to be that the law is yet another example of Congress giving presidents too much authority and failing to imagine that an authoritarian like Trump would someday wield power. When the country returns to its senses post-Trump, there are a great many reforms that need to be made to prevent future authoritarians from repeating and expanding on Trump’s moves.
Specifically, open-ended emergency laws allow unscrupulous executives to abuse their power by acting unilaterally when there is no emergency. The danger is heightened by the Supreme Court’s 2024 decision on presidential immunity.
As a footnote to January 6, Trump’s move exposes another lie. In the wake of the insurrection, Republicans had claimed that only the Speaker of the House, then Nancy Pelosi, could request more police and National Guard to defend the Capitol. Somehow, that argument has been forgotten,
While the ultimate goal of Trump’s move is not yet apparent (cough distract from Epstein cough), I had recent personal experience in the District that undercuts Trump’s reasoning. A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to walk much of the District and saw absolutely no sign of rampant crime, homelessness, or fear among the residents or the visitors. There have been no reports of attacks on federal agents or buildings as there were in LA.
Whatever you think of Trump’s move today, he’s lying about the reason.
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