‘Law And Order’: Trump Says Feds Should ‘Take Over’ Washington D.C.

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the federal government should “take over” Washington, D.C., to crack down on crime and address widespread homelessness.

Trump told reporters on board Air Force One that federal authorities should bring law and order to the nation’s capital and wrest control away from local Democrat leaders who he said aren’t doing their jobs. He is reportedly set to sign an executive order in the coming days to demand D.C. authorities take steps to clean up homeless encampments and address crime. 

“I think that we should govern the District of Columbia,” Trump said, per the White House pool. “I think that we should run it strong, run it with law and order, make it absolutely flawless.” 

“And I think we should take over Washington, D.C. We could save people from getting killed,” Trump added. “They have a great police department there. Somehow they’re not utilized properly. We should govern D.C. The federal government should take over the governance of D.C. and run it really, really properly.”

Trump said that he liked Democrat Mayor Muriel Bowser but that local authorities are “not doing the job.” 

“Too much crime, too much graffiti, too many tents on the lawns, there’s magnificent lawns and there’s tents,” he said. “It’s a sad thing, homeless people all over the place, we’ve got to take care of the homeless.”

He said that with foreign leaders like French President Emmanuel Macron and United Kingdom Prime Minister Keith Starmer visiting, there shouldn’t be so many homeless camps around the city. 

“You can’t have tents all over your beautiful, your once magnificent houses and lawns, you just can’t do it,” he said. 

The comments echoed his remarks on the campaign trail when he promised to revitalize the city. 

“We will take over the horribly run capital of our nation in Washington, D.C., and clean it up, renovate it and rebuild our capital city so there is no longer a nightmare of murder and crime,” Trump said last year. 

Trump’s pending executive order related to D.C. would reportedly involve pushing for harsher punishments for violent gun crimes and petty crimes like public urination. It would also enhance protections for national monuments and federal parks. 

Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) and Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN) introduced a bill earlier this month that would end “home rule” established decades ago for District residents to control their own local affairs, and bring the district under the management of Congress. The lawmakers cited violent crime and the city council’s push to allow non-citizen voting as reasons for the legislation.