WASHINGTON DC, Aug 11 (RTSG) – Trump is invoking Section 740 from D.C.’s Home Rule Act, which grants the President the ability to assume control over the city’s metropolitan police. Specifically, the President is able to utilize the city’s police forces to respond to any emergencies for a period of 48 hours.
Donald Trump has also begun plans to move 800 National Guard soldiers into D.C. to “rescue our nation’s capital from crime, bloodshed, bedlum, and squalor” he said during a press conference earlier today. Calling it “Liberation Day in D.C.”, Trump has said that he intends to use the police and National Guard to crack down on crime in the capital, which comes only a month after the attack on a man working for DOGE in the city.
Free D.C., a movement created to protect Home Rule and promote statehood for the district, said in a social media post that “We are seeing in real time why DC needs the full power and protection of statehood.”
“Deploying the National Guard to a state without a request from state leaders is unlawful. The fact that he could do it in the capital city is a massive vulnerability to our entire national democracy,” it added.
It is unclear at the moment as to exactly what emergency the order is being invoked for, however, the President is only able to utilize the District’s police forces for a period of 48 hours unless informing Congress beforehand. According to Section 740, Trump could theoretically use the police for a period of 30 days, past which, a law would need to be passed by the legislative branch allowing him to use it for a longer period of time.
Additionally, Trump has threatened to move the National Guard into other cities, including Chicago and New York City, to quell crime. This would be a replication of his actions earlier this year when Trump moved in hundreds of active duty soldiers and marines into the city of Los Angeles to crack down on protestors agitating against the presence of ICE agents.
D.C. Police Chief Smith said in response to today’s events that “We have a responsibility to support the executive order and one of the roles I have is to ensure that we work very collaboratively with our federal partners.”
During Monday’s press conference, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said D.C. National Guard troops “will begin flowing into the streets of Washington in the coming weeks.”
Hegseth added that the Pentagon was prepared to deploy “other National Guard units, other specialized units” to the city as well.
Written by Seraph
