The Latest: Trump says he’s placing DC police under federal control and deploying National Guard
The Latest: Trump says he’s placing DC police under federal control and deploying National Guard
President Donald Trump said Monday he’s placing the Washington, D.C., police department under federal control and deploying the National Guard to make the nation’s capital safer.
Trump has promised new steps to tackle homelessness and crime in Washington, prompting the city’s mayor to voice concerns about the potential use of the National Guard to patrol the streets.
Ahead of a news conference, Trump said Monday on social media that the nation’s capital would be “LIBERATED today!” He said he would end the “days of ruthlessly killing, or hurting, innocent people.”
Here’s the latest:
Trump declaring public safety emergency, says Attorney General Pam Bondi is taking over DC police
Trump complained about potholes and graffiti in the city and said it was “embarrassing.”
“This is a tragic emergency. And it’s embarrassing for me to be up here,” Trump said. “I don’t like being up here talking about how unsafe and how dirty and disgusting this once beautiful capital was, with graffiti all over the walls.”
Trump says DC doesn’t need more police, as he orders more federal officers into the District
Trump also said he would bring in the military if needed.
“This is not a big area,” Trump said. “What you need is rules and regulations, and you need the right people to implement them.”
Trump to deploy National Guard and place DC police under federal control
In a news conference, Trump said he’ll place the D.C. police department under federal control and deploy the National Guard.
Trump said he wants to “rescue our nation’s capital from crime, bloodshed, bedlam and squalor.” The Democratic mayor of D.C., Muriel Bowser, has noted that violent crime in Washington has decreased since a rise in 2023.
Trump cited a number of recent high-profile incidents, including the killing of a 21-year-old Congressional intern and the beating of a DOGE staffer during an attempted carjacking.
“This is liberation day in D.C. and we’re going to take our Capitol back,” the president said.
Trump said he would start with D.C., but the wider crackdown on crime would go further to other Americans.
“We’re going to clean it up real quick, very quickly,” he said.
Democratic lawmaker questions the reported deal between chipmakers and the administration
The top Democrat on a House panel focusing on competition with China raised concerns over the reported agreement that the Trump administration is to get a 15% cut from U.S. chips sales in China in exchange of granting export licenses, calling it “a dangerous misuse of export controls that undermines our national security.”
Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, the ranking member of the House Select Committee on China, said he would seek answers about the legal basis for this arrangement and demand full transparency from the administration.
“Our export control regime must be based on genuine security considerations, not creative taxation schemes disguised as national security policy,” he said. “Chip export controls aren’t bargaining chips, and they’re not casino chips either. We shouldn’t be gambling with our national security to raise revenue.”
The U.S. has placed export controls on most powerful U.S. computing chips, banning their sales in China to prevent them from being used to boost China’s military capabilities.
Germany invites Trump, Zelenskyy, NATO, EU leaders to a virtual meeting before Trump-Putin summit
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has invited President Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the NATO secretary general and several European leaders to a virtual meeting Wednesday ahead of the Trump-Putin summit later this week.
The German chancellery said in a statement Monday that the talks would focus on “the current situation in Ukraine with a view to the planned meeting between U.S. President Trump and Russian President Putin.”
It said the talks will focus on “further options for action to put pressure on Russia” as well as “preparations for possible peace negotiations and related issues of territorial claims and security.”
Europeans and Ukrainians so far are not invited to the summit Friday in Alaska.
▶ Read more about Europe and the upcoming summit on Ukraine
Judge denies request to unseal transcripts from grand jury that indicted Ghislaine Maxwell
Transcripts of the secret grand jury testimony that led to the sex trafficking indictment of Jeffrey Epstein’s former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell won’t be released, a judge decided Monday.
Judge Paul A. Engelmayer said in a written ruling that the government had suggested the materials could be released publicly “casually or promiscuously,” which would risk “unraveling the foundations of secrecy upon which the grand jury is premised” and eroding confidence by persons called to testify before future grand juries.
“And it is no answer to argue that releasing the grand jury materials, because they are redundant of the evidence at Maxwell’s trial, would be innocuous. The same could be said for almost any grand jury testimony, by summary witnesses or others, given in support of charges that later proceeded to trial,” he added.
▶ Read more about the Jeffrey Epstein case
Federal law enforcement assigned to DC patrols in crime crackdown
About 500 federal law enforcement officers are being tasked with deploying throughout the nation’s capital as part of the Trump administration’s effort to combat on crime, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on Monday.
More than 100 FBI agents and about 40 agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are among federal law enforcement personnel being assigned to patrols in Washington, the person briefed on the plans said. The Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Marshals Service are also contributing officers.
The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to publicly discuss personnel matters. The Justice Department didn’t immediately have a comment Monday morning.
The White House last week announced plans for an increased presence of federal law enforcement in Washington as part of the Trump administration’s crackdown on crime.
— Alanna Durkin Richer
Europe says the US-Russia summit this week cannot decide on Ukraine land swaps
But the Europeans concede that Moscow is unlikely to give up control of Ukrainian land it holds.
Ahead of the summit in Alaska on Friday, President Trump suggested that a peace deal could include “some swapping of territories,” but the Europeans see no sign that Russia will offer anything to swap. Europeans and Ukrainians so far are not invited to the summit.
European Union foreign ministers are meeting on Monday following talks on Ukraine among U.S. and European security advisors over the weekend. They are wary that President Vladimir Putin will try to claim a political victory by portraying Ukraine as inflexible.
▶ Read more about Europe and upcoming summit
Trump’s Monday schedule
The only thing on Trump’s schedule today is a news conference at 10 a.m., where he’s expected to announce plans to tackle homelessness and crime in Washington.
Trump is promising new steps to tackle homelessness and crime in Washington
Trump is promising new steps to tackle homelessness and crime in Washington, prompting the city’s mayor to voice concerns about the potential use of the National Guard to patrol the streets in the nation’s capital.
Trump wrote in a social media post that he would hold a White House news conference on Monday to discuss his plans to make the District of Columbia “safer and more beautiful than it ever was before.”
“The Homeless have to move out, IMMEDIATELY,” Trump wrote Sunday. “We will give you places to stay, but FAR from the Capital. The Criminals, you don’t have to move out. We’re going to put you in jail where you belong.”
Last week, the Republican president directed federal law enforcement agencies to increase their presence in Washington for seven days, with the option “to extend as needed.”
Trump said last week that he was considering ways for the federal government to seize control of Washington, asserting that crime was “ridiculous” and the city was “unsafe,” after the recent assault of a high-profile member of the Department of Government Efficiency.
▶ Read more about Trump’s upcoming announcement
By The Associated Press
