DMV New Liberals Condemn the Deployment of Federal Law Enforcement in the District of Columbia
WASHINGTON, DC – The DMV New Liberals condemn President Donald Trump’s mobilization of more than 800 National Guard troops into the District of Columbia and federalizing the Metropolitan Police Department under the pretense of reducing crime. Not only does this fly in the face of DC’s declining crime rate, it also underscores the administration’s increased comfort in deploying federal forces against cities he, personally, does not like.
“This is the same playbook they used in Los Angeles earlier this year,” DMV New Liberals Chapter Lead Karl Nielsen said. “It’s an attempt to bully and to undercut the District’s autonomy; this is draconian and a dangerous escalation of authoritarian actions from the administration.”
This order should be rescinded, and the Metropolitan Police should be returned to the District’s authorities. Further, this deployment on August 11, 2025, and not January 6, 2021, demonstrates the blatant political nature of the actions as well as the administration’s brazen hypocrisy. President Trump’s actions here undermines our checks and balances system as well as endangers the District’s nearly 700,000 residents without Congressional representation.
BACKGROUND
On August 11, President Donald Trump announced the mobilization of the National Guard in the District of Columbia with the supposed aim of reducing crime in the area, despite recent declines in violent crime, reaching its lowest point since 2023 per the Washington Post and Metropolitan Police. This is likely in retaliation for the unarmed carjacking of former D.O.G.E. employee Edward Coristine.
Revoking what little political representation the District possesses has been a longstanding agenda of the GOP, with two congressional Republicans, Representative Andy Ogles and Senator Mike Lee having introduced a bill to repeal the Home Rule Act. The "Bringing Oversight to Washington and Safety to Every Resident Act", or "BOWSER Act" is intended to reverse the provisions of the 1973 Home Rule Act, including the abolition of both the position of Mayor and the council as well as returning oversight of the district to Congress.
