Today, Donald Trump seized direct control of Washington, D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department, stripping authority from Mayor Muriel Bowser and handing it over to Attorney General Tom Cotton. The move, made under a “crime emergency” declaration, invokes Section 740 of the D.C. Home Rule Act—a rarely used law that exists only because the District lacks statehood.
Mayor Bowser no longer has operational control of her police department. All deployment decisions now go through the Justice Department, including the authority to shift officers from neighborhood patrols to guarding federal buildings, securing monuments, and policing protests—even if it results in fewer officers in local communities. D.C. Police Chief Pamela Smith said the city received no warning of Trump’s plan, expecting instead a National Guard announcement. She said she will work with Attorney General Pam Bondi. Read more at www.blackpressusa.com.
