Federal Officers Take to the Streets in DC

The White House said Thursday night that there will be increased presence of federal law enforcement in the nation's capital to combat crime for at least the next week, amid President Trump's suggestions that his administration could fully take over running the city, the AP reports. "Washington, DC is an amazing city, but it has been plagued by violent crime for far too long," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement. "President Trump has directed an increased presence of federal law enforcement to protect innocent citizens." She added that the increased federal presence means "there will be no safe harbor for violent criminals in DC."

Trump has repeatedly suggested that the rule of Washington could be returned to federal authorities. Doing so would require a repeal of the Home Rule Act of 1973 in Congress, a step Trump said lawyers are examining—but could face steep pushback. "We have a capital that's very unsafe," Trump told reporters at the White House this week. "We have to run DC." The White House said the increased law enforcement would "make DC safe again" and would be present on the streets starting at midnight—led by US Park Police following an 11pm Thursday roll call at an established command center.

The push will last the next seven days with the option to extend "as needed," under the authority of Trump's previous executive order establishing the Making DC Safe and Beautiful Task Force. The added federal officials will be identified, in marked units and highly visible, the White House said. Participating law enforcement include personnel from the US Capitol Police, Homeland Security Investigations, the Federal Protective Service, the Drug Enforcement Administration, Enforcement and Removal Operations, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the US Marshals Service, and the US Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia. The police forces for Amtrak and the city's Metro rail service are also involved.