Donald Trump sent 850 officers of the National Guard to Washington to – as he described – deal with crime and chaos prevailing in the US capital. On Monday, the president signed a special ordinance, recommending to the secretary of defense, cooperation with governors and, if necessary, mobilizing additional members of the National Guard.
During the speech in the White House, Trump stated that sending members of the National Guard to the capital aim to stop the “crime, bloodshed, chaos and misery.” He also suggested that he would take actions similar to other American metropolises.
– We will not lose our cities. We start very hard from Washington and we intend to clean it really quickly, very quickly – he announced, quoted by Yahoo! News. He emphasized that he hoped that other cities would draw conclusions from the situation in the capital and introduce the necessary changes. He said, “maybe they will cleanse themselves.”
Then he mentioned Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Baltimore and Oakland – all are ruled by Democrats. – If they do not draw conclusions, if they did not study us thoroughly, I will soon look at the new York. And if the need arises, we will do the same in Chicago – said Donald Trump.
Donald Trump sends the National Guard. Can he do it in other cities?
According to Associated Press, the decision to send the National Guard to Washington is lawful. The district of Colombia, in which Washington is located, is a federal district and is subject to the jurisdiction of the congress. The president has the right to take control of his order forces. The situation is slightly different in other parts of the country, where the governors of individual states are responsible for the national guard, and the police work independently.
In June 2025, Trump sent 5,000 Members of the National Guard to Los Angeles against the objections of the California state authorities. Gavin Gavin Governor sued Trump's administration, citing the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878, which limits the possibility of the use of armed forces to enforce the law in the country. The case is pending in San Francisco, and its result can be crucial for the president's further decisions.
The actions announced by Trump met with criticism of local officials. The mayor of Washington Muriel Bowser pointed out that crime statistics in the capital do not justify such activities.
– If the priority is to show strength in an American city, we know that he can do it here. But this will not be caused by an increase in crime – she said in an interview with MSNBC.
A decrease in crime in the USA. In Washington, fewer seizures and theft
According to the prosecutor's office from the Colombia district, the crime indicator using violence in Washington is the lowest in 30 years. According to the Associated Press, in the last year in Washington, the amount of sexual assault and car theft has significantly decreased (both down by 50 %), as well as assaults using weapons or robberies and burglaries (less by about 20 percent), the increase was recorded only in the case of arson.
Similar arguments were presented by the conference of the mayors of the USA, which pointed out that crime using violence throughout the country fell in 2023-2024 by 4.5 percent, and the number of murders decreased by almost 15 percent.
