Elected Democrats at every level of government are watching the Trump administration’s moves to police the District of Columbia closely, worrying that the president’s efforts to exert more power will reach their cities next.
President Donald Trump on Monday announced that he put the city’s police department under federal control and activated the National Guard to patrol the city, evoking another instance from earlier this year that put Democrats on edge: Trump’s deployment of the National Guard in Los Angeles. As Trump paints U.S. cities as “violent” and “drugged out,” he said his administration plans to crack down on homeless encampments and crime in America’s urban centers with full force “starting with D.C.”
He promised that federal involvement would “go further,” and suggested cities could avoid federal action if they “clean up” their crime rates. Democrats say they’re starting to identify a pattern of federal overreach from Trump, particularly in the affairs of cities in states run by Democrats.