Dear neighbors,
Like many of you, I am shocked and outraged that President Trump has announced he is weaponizing the Home Rule Act by deploying the National Guard and exercising authority over the Metropolitan Police Department. This is a direct attack on the 700,000 residents of DC and we will not stand for it.
I know many of you are likely feeling angry, worried, and deeply concerned about what this means for our city and our communities. Please know that I share your outrage, and I am working with my colleagues and community leaders to stand up for our rights and our city’s autonomy.
But while this is deeply disturbing for all of us, it’s important to clarify what the federal government can and can’t do under the Home Rule Act. MPD will still report to Chief Pamela Smith, and local police can provide services at the federal government’s request for no more than 30 days without Congressional action. National Guard members cannot perform arrest functions, and must be identified.
In response to today’s actions by Trump, the Council released the following statement, which I encourage you to read in full:
This is a manufactured intrusion on local authority. Violent crime in the District is at the lowest rates we’ve seen in 30 years. Federalizing the Metropolitan Police Department is unwarranted because there is no Federal emergency. Further, the National Guard has no public safety training or knowledge of local laws. The Guard’s role does not include investigating or solving crimes in the District. Calling out the National Guard is an unnecessary deployment with no real mission.
Public safety is built on trust, consistent enforcement, and community-based strategies. We must ensure that in our pursuit of safety, we do not create an atmosphere of surveillance, intimidation or unequal treatment under the law.
Our local police department is the best in the country, and it is our police officers who should be leading the efforts to keep our communities safe–not the National Guard. The President was unable to cite any evidence that our MPD is not able to do the job. Let’s stay focused.
Our local government regularly partners with the federal government. The federal government plays a role through the United States Attorney’s Office prosecuting violent crime, the Senate confirming judges to serve on our courts, the federal supervision agencies to follow up with people who are released on parole, and Congress passing a budget fix so that DC residents can spend their own tax dollars to pay our police and firefighters the wages they deserve. Taking over our police department and deploying hundreds of National Guard members is not the hard work of public safety – it is a show of force without impact.
It is our job to regularly look at our laws and ensure they are serving our residents’ interests. That’s what we did in 2024 when the Council came together to pass Secure DC, an omnibus with over 100 interventions to drive down crime. We did it again when the Council in June 2025 passed Peace DC legislation that puts the city on a path to more sustainable safety. And in the last two years where we have been laser focused on driving down crime, we have decreased violent crime by nearly 50% of what it was, yielding the lowest violent crime numbers our city has seen in 30 years.
This gross federal overreach isn’t about justice and it’s certainly not safety. It’s an attack on our autonomy and, as a native Washingtonian, I will fight this hostile takeover with everything I have.
We will not be intimidated. We will not be silenced. Together, we will fight this outrageous action with everything we have. I will update you on our efforts and the situation evolves, but know that I am laser focused on putting a stop to this takeover and am here for any support our community needs.
In service and solidarity,
—Janeese