President Donald Trump on Monday declared a “crime emergency” in Washington, D.C., announcing an unprecedented federal takeover of the city’s police department and the deployment of National Guard troops to restore law and order.

Flanked by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Attorney General Pam Bondi, Trump blasted the city’s left-wing leadership for policies he says have fueled rampant crime, including the elimination of cash bail.

“This dire public safety crisis stems directly from the abject failures of the city’s local leadership. The ‘radical left’ city council adopted no cash bail… every place in the country where you have no cash bail is a disaster. That’s what started the problem,” Trump said.

Although Washington, D.C., has essentially had no cash bail since 1992, Trump vowed to end the policy in Chicago and push Congress to change federal statutes nationwide. “We’re going to change no cash bail… we’ll count on the Republicans in Congress and the Senate to vote,” he said, calling Democrats “weak on crime.”

Trump named Drug Enforcement Administration Administrator Terry Cole as interim federal commissioner of the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department, calling him “one of the top in the country” and directing him to run the department “tough.”

Citing Section 740 of the 1973 District of Columbia Home Rule Act, Trump formally placed the D.C. police under direct federal control—something no president has done before. The law allows a 48-hour takeover in an emergency, with extensions possible through congressional notification and approval for longer terms.

“Something’s out of control, but we’re going to put it in control very quickly, like we did on the southern border,” Trump said. “I’m deploying the National Guard to help reestablish law, order and public safety in Washington, DC, and they’re going to be allowed to do their job properly.”

The move comes amid Trump’s broader push to address crime in America’s major cities. On Sunday, he vowed on Truth Social to remove homeless encampments from the capital: “The Homeless have to move out, IMMEDIATELY. We will give you places to stay, but FAR from the Capital. The Criminals, you don’t have to move out. We’re going to put you in jail where you belong.”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the president ordered law enforcement to boost their presence in the capital, with deployments expected to last at least a week.

White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller underscored the seriousness of the crisis, telling NewsNation that Washington, D.C., “is more violent than Baghdad.”

Democrat Mayor Muriel Bowser dismissed the comparison during an MSNBC appearance, calling it “hyperbolic and false.”

Still, Trump’s decisive action marks a historic assertion of federal authority over the nation’s capital—one his supporters say is long overdue.