August 12, 2025

President Donald Trump has declared a “crime emergency” in Washington, D.C., and taken the unprecedented step of federalizing the city’s Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). The move, announced Monday from the White House, came as a surprise to local officials—D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and Police Chief Pamela Smith both learned about it in real time while watching Trump’s televised remarks. Unprecedented Use of Home Rule Act Authority The legal basis for Trump’s decision rests on Section 740 of the 1973 Home Rule Act, which grants the president authority to assume control of MPD for up to 48 hours if “special conditions of an emergency nature” exist that require the police for federal purposes. Control can be extended beyond 48 hours if the president notifies congressional leaders, and any period longer than 30 days requires formal legislation. Dr. Heidi Bonner, chair of the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology at East Carolina