D.C. mayor defends capital's crime rates after Trump threatens to take over police
Source: NPR
Updated August 10, 2025 2:04 PM ET
Mayor Muriel Bowser of Washington, D.C. broke her silence Sunday in response to President Trump's threats to take federal control of the nation's capital. Bowser defended the District's control of its police department, expressed concern over the deployment of the D.C. National Guard, and celebrated a two-year drop in violent crime countering White House claims of out-of-control violence.
Last week, Trump directed federal law enforcement agencies — including the U.S. Park Police, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the U.S. Marshals Service, among others — to increase their presence in D.C. after a former White House staffer was assaulted in an attempted carjacking. A White House official, not authorized to speak publicly on the matter, confirmed nearly 450 federal officers were deployed in the District Saturday night.
On Sunday, the president promised in a social media post to "make our Capital safer" by removing the homeless and jailing criminals, with a plan to be announced at 10 a.m. on Monday. "I suspect that his announcement is that he is surging federal law enforcement, which he's talked about," Bowser said Sunday during an interview on MSNBC — her first since Trump's federal take over threats. "He may talk about even larger numbers or longer periods of time."
Bowser said she will continue to work with the president on their "shared priorities" of making D.C. a beautiful and safe city. But the mayor said what the city really needs is more federal prosecutors, judges, and repairs to parks and buildings. She also took issue with recent statements from White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, who called the nation's capital "more violent than Baghdad." "Any comparison to a war-torn country is hyperbolic and false," Bowser said.
Read more: https://www.npr.org/2025/08/10/g-s1-81933/d-c-mayor-defends-capitals-crime-rates-after-trump-threatens-to-take-over-police
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