US President Donald Trump on Monday declared a “public safety emergency” in Washington, invoking his powers under the Home Rule Act to take federal control of the city’s police department and deploy the National Guard, citing what he called “complete and total lawlessness.”

“Every American has a constitutional right to be able to access and petition their government in safety and countless federal officials and employees likewise have the right to carry out their jobs in peace without being shot,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “This issue directly impacts the functioning of the federal government and is a threat to America, really. It’s a threat to our country.”

Trump said the order would allow federal authorities to quickly “clean up” the capital, authorizing police officers to respond more aggressively to confrontations.

“They love to spit in the face of the police as the police are standing up there in uniform… and then they start spitting in their face,” he said.

Trump told the police, “You tell them, ‘You spit, and we hit.’ Now they are allowed to do whatever the hell they want.”

The Republican president accused Washington’s “radical left” city council of enabling crime by adopting a no-cash-bail policy.

“Somebody murders somebody and they’re out on no cash bail before the day is out,” he said, calling the policy “a disaster” and vowing to push for changes in other cities.

Trump also cast his action as a warning to other Democratic-run cities, naming Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Baltimore and Oakland as having “very bad” crime problems.

“We’re not going to lose our cities over this,” he said. “We’re starting very strongly with D.C. and we’re going to clean it up real quick, very quickly, as they say… Maybe they’ll self clean up and maybe they’ll get rid of the cashless bail thing and all of the things that caused the problem.”

Trump’s announcement is his latest effort to target Democratic-run cities by exercising executive power over traditionally local matters, and he has shown particular interest in asserting more control over Washington.

The Republican president has dismissed criticism that he is manufacturing a crisis to justify expanding presidential authority in a heavily Democratic city.

The District of Columbia, established in 1790, operates under the Home Rule Act, which gives Congress ultimate authority but allows residents to elect a mayor and city council. Trump said last week that lawyers are examining how to overturn the law, a move that would likely require Congress to revoke it.

Trump described Washington as a hellscape of bloodthirsty criminals and unchecked violence.

The Democratic mayor of Washington, Muriel Bowser, has pushed back on Trump’s claims, saying the city is “not experiencing a crime spike” and highlighting that violent crime hit its lowest level in more than three decades last year.

Violent crime fell 26% in the first seven months of 2025 after dropping 35% in 2024, and overall crime dropped 7%, according to the city’s police department.

Trump did not give a timeline for how long the federal control would remain in place, but said other cities should expect similar measures if local leaders “don’t learn their lesson.”