President Donald Trump dropped a political bombshell Monday, announcing his intention to invoke Section 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act to declare a public emergency and federalize the D.C. Police Department. Under Trump's plan, the department would fall under Justice Department control to combat what Trump calls the rampant crime plaguing our nation's capital.
The move represents Trump's commitment to cleaning up Washington, D.C., and cracking down on the violent crime that has transformed the capital into an unsafe environment for residents and visitors alike. But rather than applaud efforts to restore law and order to our nation’s capital where they work, Democrats immediately launched into full resistance mode, revealing just how far they've fallen from any pretense of supporting public safety.
Rep. Eric Swalwell, never one to miss an opportunity for hyperbole, accused Trump of turning America into a dictatorship simply for wanting to address crime in D.C. Others quickly pushed the narrative that D.C. crime is trending downward—something we’ve already proven isn’t true. Not that that has stopped Democrats from whining about authoritarianism.
Of course, their resist strategy got thrown through a loop when the D.C. police union threw their support behind Trump's initiative.
"The DC Police Union, representing over 3,000 officers of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), today acknowledges and supports the President’s announcement this morning to assume temporary control of the MPD in response to the escalating crime crisis in Washington, DC,” the union said in a statement. “The Union agrees that crime is spiraling out of control, and immediate action is necessary to restore public safety. However, we emphasize that federal intervention must be a temporary measure, with the ultimate goal of empowering a fully staffed and supported MPD to protect our city effectively."
Democrats have chosen to escalate their anti-Trump resistance to absurd new heights, opposing even basic efforts to clean up crime-ridden streets. Their reflexive opposition reveals something deeply troubling about their priorities. Perhaps they've abandoned any pretense of opposing criminal activity, or maybe they simply cannot stomach giving Trump credit for anything, even if it’s protecting innocent people from violent criminals.
After their humiliating loss in 2024, you’d think Democrats would at least make a show of caring about law and order, knowing full well it’s a top priority for everyday Americans. Instead, they’ve doubled down—digging themselves deeper into the same soft-on-crime pit that elevates criminals over victims, clings to radical ideology over public safety, and prioritizes political theater over actual solutions.
President Trump’s bold move to tackle D.C.’s crime crisis is a direct slap in the face to this failed approach. While Democrats waste time guarding their political brand and catering to the activist fringe, Trump is focused on protecting American lives. When federalizing local police becomes the only way to restore order because local leaders have completely collapsed under their own incompetence, the problem isn’t the intervention—it’s the disastrous Democratic policies that made it inevitable.
