President Donald Trump made headlines again Tuesday by signaling that his administration is seriously considering a federal takeover of Washington, D.C., in a bold move to crack down on spiraling crime and mismanagement in the nation’s capital.
During a cabinet meeting, Trump didn’t mince words when asked about the direction of left-leaning urban leadership, particularly in New York City, where Democrat socialist Zohran Mamdani is making a run for mayor. “We’re not going to have — if a communist gets elected to run New York, it can never be the same,” Trump said. “But we have tremendous power at the White House to run places when we have to. We could run D.C. We’re looking at D.C. We don’t want crime in D.C.”
The idea is more than political rhetoric. According to Trump, his White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles is already in talks with D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser to explore options. “They’re doing all right,” Trump said of the talks. “In the sense that we would run it so good, it would be run so proper. We’d get the best person to run it; the crime would be down to a minimal — it would be much less.”
Washington, D.C. has long struggled with crime, homelessness, and bureaucratic mismanagement. Despite city officials claiming progress, many residents and visitors see a different reality — one that’s tarnishing the image of the nation’s capital. In fact, D.C. ranked near the bottom—172 out of 182 cities—in WalletHub’s 2025 list of the “Safest Cities in America.”
While burglaries have dropped slightly, motor vehicle thefts have gone up from 2024 to 2025, according to recent crime statistics from the Metropolitan Police Department. And with rising concerns over safety, it’s not just tourists who are avoiding the city — families and small businesses are feeling the pressure, too.
Trump made it clear: “We want a capital that’s run flawlessly. And it wouldn’t be hard for us to do it.”
Trump’s remarks also gave fresh momentum to a broader conservative push to revisit Washington, D.C.’s autonomy. Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) quickly responded with a constitutional reminder: “As President Trump seems to be contemplating, it’s time to repeal ‘DC Home Rule,’ and have DC’s laws made by Congress—consistent with Article I, Section 8, Clause 17 of the Constitution.”
Lee has introduced the BOWSER Act—Bringing Oversight to Washington and Safety to Every Resident—which would put Congress, not the D.C. City Council, back in charge of lawmaking in the capital. Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN) co-sponsored the bill, adding legislative muscle to an issue many conservatives see as a long-overdue course correction.
Washington, D.C. is not just another city—it’s the seat of American government, and a reflection of national strength and order. When that city descends into chaos, it sends a dangerous message both at home and abroad. Trump’s call to restore order through federal oversight isn’t about partisanship—it’s about common sense, law and order, and a commitment to protect the integrity of our nation’s capital.
And with crime continuing to rise in far-left cities under soft-on-crime leadership, D.C. may just be the first domino to fall in a broader restoration of accountability in America’s urban centers.
