President Donald Trump said Tuesday he’s weighing a federal takeover of Washington, D.C., spouting bogus claims about rampant crime in the nation’s capital, and hinted he could pursue the same with New York City.
Trump, who first floated the idea in February, brought up the takeover in the Oval Office when a reporter asked him who he thinks Republicans should support in the upcoming New York mayoral race. Trump said he’s “not getting involved” but went on to slam Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani as a “disaster” and “communist” who would be bad for the city.
“We have tremendous power at the White House to run places when we have to,” Trump then said before disclosing he’s already “testing” a plan to take over Washington.
“We’re thinking about doing it, to be honest with you. We want to. We want a capital that’s run flawlessly,” he said.
“We could run D.C. I mean, we’re looking at D.C. We don’t want crime in D.C. We want the city to run well,” he also said, adding that the city’s mayor, Democrat Muriel Bowser, is “working very closely” with White House chief of staff Susie Wiles.
Bowser’s office declined to comment when asked about Trump’s remarks.
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“We would run it so good,” Trump said of the district. “It would be run so properly. We’d get the best person to run it. The crime would be down to a minimal ― would be much less.”
Violent crime in Washington hit its lowest point in 30 years in 2024 and is down 35% from 2023, according to the city’s Metropolitan Police Department. That includes a 32% reduction in homicides and 39% drop in robberies. In 2025, crime rates have continued to plummet.
When Trump first raised the idea in February, he was especially focused on the presence of unhoused people in the nation’s capital.
“Too many tents on the lawns — these magnificent lawns,” he said, adding, “You can’t have tents on all your beautiful — your once magnificent plaza and lawns.”
Congress already has the authority to vet the district’s laws and overturn them, but Trump has yet to offer any information on how he would pursue a federal takeover of the city.
Some Republican lawmakers have pushed to dissolve 1973’s Home Rule Act, which handed some of Congress’ powers over the city to local government. However, Republicans are unlikely to achieve that without a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate.