Democrats, including D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, loudly oppose the idea, but Trump says Bowser’s administration and other D.C. leadership have failed and that the District has been overrun with concerns of crime, homelessness and more.
There are questions regarding the limits of Trump’s takeover authority, however.
The incident sparking the current debate occurred on Sunday when Edward Coristine, the former DOGE employee, and a second person were assaulted by would-be carjackers.
A police incident report obtained by CNN said police actually witnessed a group of 10 juveniles surround Coristine’s vehicle and assault him. When police exited their vehicle, the juveniles ran way, the report said.
Two 15-year-olds were arrested and charged with unarmed carjacking, CNN reported.
Local officials “are not doing the job," Trump told reporters. "Too much crime, too much — too many tents on the lawns — these magnificent lawns."
Washington, D.C., the nation’s capital filled with monuments and museums to American heroes and success, the place where families go to learn about and celebrate the nation’s history, should be the safest city in America, not the most dangerous, Blaze Media show host and columnist Auron MacIntyre said on American Family Radio Monday.
“It’s an absolute shame for the United States, a deep source of shame," MacIntyre told show host Jenna Ellis.
The most current 2025 data shows Washington with the nation’s highest crime rate among major cities with 5,458 incidents per 100,000 residents in 2023. This significantly exceeds the national average.
Some of the most popular tourist destinations are among D.C.’s most dangerous addresses.
The District’s crime problem is a “policy choice,” MacIntyre said.
“We know that Democrats are incredibly soft on crime. It's very clear Democrats are never going to fix their crime problem, and so it makes perfect sense for them to lose sovereignty over D.C.,” MacIntyre said.
Can Trump really take over Washington, D.C.?
The District of Columbia Home Rule Act was established in 1973 and grants limited self-governance, allowing residents to elect a mayor and a 13-member council to look after eight city wards.
Congress has the power to review and overturn laws passed by the council and to control the city’s budget.
The president appoints D.C.’s judges, with Senate confirmation, and the District lacks voting representation in Congress. Earlier this week the Senate confirmed Jeanine Pirro, a staunch conservative and former Fox News host, as the U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C.
For all the limitations in place for the District, a full federal takeover would almost certainly require a congressional repeal of the Home Rule Act. That would face significant hurdles without a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate.
Trump can still use “emergency powers,” which grant him the authority, among other things, to use National Guard troops in the city.
His administration is currently reviewing the Home Rule Act.
“There’s simply no reason Home Rule should continue to exist if these people can’t manage it,” MacIntyre said.
But what if Washington, D.C. became a state? Would that be a problem-solver? Bowser believes statehood is the way to go.
"We have to fight every day for not being in this (statehood) position, and the only way we're not in this position is when we become a state," said Bowser, via Fox 5 in Washington, D.C. "As long as we have limited home rule in this city … yes, you have elected officials, but as long as we have limited home rule, we're always vulnerable to the whims of the Congress or a president."
Statehood for the capital contradicts its founding, MacIntyre said.
“The entire purpose of the city was to be a neutral place that was not owned by any particular state and did not itself function as a real true municipal force. It’s not supposed to be swinging elections or anything.”
Which way would D.C. as a state swing?
Politically, the District is a Democrat stronghold.
The mayor’s office has been held by Democrats for decades. Bowser has been in office since 2015.
All 13 members of the D.C., Council are registered Democrats or Independents who caucus with Democrats.
Seventy-six percent of registered voters in Washington, D.C., are Democrats. The District has three electoral votes.
In the last three presidential elections Hillary Clinton received 90.9% of the D.C., vote, Joe Biden 92.1% and Kamala Harris 90.28%.
“Democrats are going to have this giant outcry because they're used to having control, but that's never what was intended in the first place. So, I think it's perfectly reasonable to call ultimately Congress to retake control as it's supposed to,” MacIntyre said.
