President Donald Trump has invoked Section 740 of the District’s Home Rule Act to assume temporary control of the Metropolitan Police Department and deploy about 800 D.C. National Guard troops, a force now supplemented by guardsmen from six Republican-led states. The White House says the move answers a “crime emergency”; critics note that it is the first federal takeover of the city’s police since the law was enacted in 1973. Republican officials cite early statistics from the D.C. Police Union showing sharp, one-week declines in several offences—carjackings down 83%, robberies 46%, violent crime 22% and overall crime 8%. Supporters argue the intervention is warranted because the District’s murder rate is more than five times the national-state average. Vice President J.D. Vance has called the crackdown a potential template for other cities. Public opinion inside Washington is far less enthusiastic. A Washington Post survey found 79% of residents oppose the federalisation of local policing and the presence of thousands of National Guard soldiers on city streets. Separate polling by Rasmussen likewise shows voters nationwide split on whether the president can “fix” the capital’s crime problem. Legal analysts note that the president has clear authority over the D.C. Guard but a far narrower remit elsewhere; a Reuters explainer says any attempt to deploy National Guard units to states without governors’ consent would face challenges under the Posse Comitatus and Insurrection Acts. For now, the administration plans to reassess the D.C. operation after the 30-day window specified in Section 740.