President Donald Trump on Aug. 21 praised National Guard troops and federal agents in Washington, D.C., saying early results from his crime-reduction push had turned the capital into "a different city" and would make it "the best in the world." The address came amid a highly visible law-enforcement build-up that began earlier this month. Trump quietly launched the "Making D.C. Safe and Beautiful" task force on Aug. 7 and, four days later, invoked emergency powers under the District of Columbia Home Rule Act to place the Metropolitan Police Department under temporary federal control. The White House has supplemented local patrols with roughly 500 additional federal officers and about 800 National Guard troops. The Justice Department says the surge has produced more than 1,000 arrests to date, including 87 overnight detentions and the seizure of four illegal firearms on Aug. 25. U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents the same day stopped a suspected carjacker, one of several incidents officials cite as evidence that the heightened presence is working. City crime statistics show no homicides were recorded during the 12 days ending Aug. 24, the longest such stretch in recent years. Trump told assembled personnel that the federal effort is making residents "feel safer" and pledged to sustain the operation. Under the Home Rule Act, the takeover of the police department expires after 30 days unless Congress votes to extend it. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and other Democrats call the intervention unnecessary and potentially inflammatory, setting up a legislative test before the Sept. 10 deadline.