President Donald Trump’s 30-day emergency order giving him direct control over Washington, D.C.’s police is set to expire at midnight Thursday, potentially ending one of the most visible interventions into local governance since Congress passed the Home Rule Act in 1973.
However, some city officials and residents note the effects of the order are far from over as the fight for self-governance continues.
The Aug. 11 declaration had allowed Trump to seize authority over the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), claiming a “crime emergency” in the capital. But from the start, city officials and the courts limited the scope of that control.
D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb quickly sued, arguing the law did not permit a president to take full command of a local police force. Facing skeptical judges, the Justice Department scaled back its demands to require only certain police services tied to immigration enforcement.
Even so, the takeover changed daily life in the city.
“D.C. is under siege by our own [federal government, with] armed military patrolling our streets [and] masked agents scooping up neighbors [and] taking them away. Our residents are afraid, hesitant to go out & to work, angry that our limited autonomy is being eroded,” D.C. Councilmember Brianne Nadeau (D-Ward 2) wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “There is nothing welcome about this.”
Federal agents joined MPD officers in traffic checkpoints and immigration sweeps. More than 1,600 people were arrested during the surge, with 80% facing misdemeanors or low-level charges.
An MPD report showed overall crime dropped 15% during the federal operation compared with the same period a year earlier, including a 39% decline in violent crime and a steep drop in carjackings.
Trump hailed the results, declaring on social media that crime was “virtually NOTHING” in the city.
Mayor Muriel Bowser acknowledged decreases in gun violence and carjackings but warned that the cooperation between MPD and federal immigration agents “is not working” for residents’ trust in local policing.
If the emergency order does lapse, MPD would no longer be compelled to share information with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). But D.C. Police Chief Pamela Smith’s order permitting limited cooperation with federal immigration authorities would remain in effect, leaving questions about how quickly practices will shift on the ground.
For many residents, the expiration offers little relief. Thousands of National Guard troops from D.C. and eight Republican-led states remain deployed, along with additional officers from the FBI, DEA, and other federal agencies. Immigration raids continue, and armored vehicles still patrol neighborhoods.
Schwalb, in his lawsuit, described the deployment of out-of-state Guardsmen as “dangerous and harmful to the District and its residents.”
He warned, “It’s D.C. today but could be any other city tomorrow.”
Meanwhile, Congress is weighing measures that could further expand federal power over the District. House Republicans are considering bills that would tighten sentencing laws, lower the age at which juveniles can be tried as adults, and restrict the D.C. Council’s authority on criminal justice. Democrats, including
Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D) of Maryland and D.C.’s Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D), have countered by reintroducing legislation to grant the District full control over its police and National Guard.
District Councilmember Christina Henderson (I-At-Large) said the city remains vulnerable despite the deadline.
“With this administration and this particular crop of individuals in the Congress, you give an inch, they will take a mile,” she remarked.
While some have opined that the expiration of Trump’s order could close one chapter of Washington’s confrontation with federal power, many residents and leaders believe the struggle over self-government is far from over.
D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson (D) predicted any change in policing would be gradual.
“I think what we’re going to see is a slow and gradual transition,” Mendelson said. “I don’t think there will be a night-and-day separation.”
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