Trump Federalizes DC

As of August 9, 2025, Donald Trump has not fully federalized Washington, D.C. However, he has directed an increased presence of federal law enforcement in the city for a limited period. On August 7, 2025, the White House announced that federal law enforcement officials would patrol D.C. streets for the next seven days in marked units, following an attack on Edward Coristine, a former staffer of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) This action follows Trump’s repeated threats on Truth Social and in public remarks to “federalize” the city if local authorities do not take stronger action on crime, particularly youth violence

Trump’s broader threat to take full federal control of D.C. — which would involve overriding the 1973 Home Rule Act and dissolving locally elected governance — has not been implemented Legal and political experts note that such a move would likely require an act of Congress and would face significant legal and political hurdles