Trump Deploys National Guard to Tackle D.C. Crime Before Putin Meeting

President Donald Trump on Monday declared a public-safety emergency in Washington, D.C., saying the nation’s capital has become “dirty and disgusting” and that its crime rate presents an international embarrassment ahead of his meeting later this week with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Speaking from the White House, Trump said roughly 800 National Guard troops will be mobilized immediately to reinforce local police, with additional units and specialized federal agents held in reserve “if necessary.” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters the Guard would begin appearing on city streets within days. Trump dismissed calls for expanding the Metropolitan Police Department, arguing the existing 3,500-officer force is adequate and instead blamed bail reforms and lax prosecution for violent crime. He pledged to press the Republican-controlled Congress to curb no-cash-bail policies nationwide. District officials pushed back, with Attorney General Brian Schwalb noting violent crime has fallen 26% so far this year and warning that federalizing local policing could face legal challenges. Trump said the cleanup drive was vital before he sits down with Putin in Alaska on Friday to discuss the war in Ukraine, adding that the state of the capital reflects the strength of the country: “If our capital is dirty, our whole country is dirty.”