President Donald Trump said Monday he’s taking over Washington's police department and activating 800 members of the National Guard in the hopes of reducing crime, even as city officials stressed crime is already falling in the nation’s capital.

1. Trump activated the National Guard. The president can still call up the National Guard in Washington. His authority is less clear in Los Angeles, where a legal battle continues over his recent deployment of the National Guard despite the objections of Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Trump said he was putting Washington's police department under federal control and ordering in the National Guard to right lawlessness, despite statistics showing that violent crime hit a 30-year low in 2024.