President Donald Trump laid out an aggressive plan for the federal government to take over law enforcement in Washington and teased that the same force might be coming to other cities across the country.
Joined by top administration officials, including Attorney General Pam Bondi and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, the president announced the National Guard will be deployed in the nation's capital and that the local police will be placed under federal control.
"This is an emergency," Trump said. "This is a tragic emergency."
The president painted a dark portrait of the city throughout an Aug. 11 press conference, describing it as overrun by homeless people, drug addicts and other "bloodthirsty criminals" that his administration will no longer tolerate.
Many residents and activists have long resisted those characterizations as false and racially motivated attacks against the city, which has lobbied for statehood in recent years.
