President Donald Trump on Thursday visited the U.S. Park Police Anacostia Operations Facility in southeast Washington, D.C., to thank federal law-enforcement officers and National Guard troops deployed under his administration’s anti-crime initiative. The trip follows last week’s move by the White House to send Guard soldiers and hundreds of federal agents to the capital and to assume temporary control of the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department, an unprecedented assertion of presidential authority that Trump says is needed to combat violent crime. Addressing several hundred uniformed personnel, the president said the stepped-up presence has made the city "a different place" and pledged "the best capital ever." District officials question the necessity of the federal takeover, noting that local and federal statistics show violent crime has already fallen from a 2023 spike. Mayor Muriel Bowser said the city has added about 500 officers over the past two years and has seen continued declines, though she acknowledged the additional manpower could yield "incremental" gains. The Justice Department has instructed prosecutors in Washington to pursue criminal cases arising from the crackdown more aggressively, people familiar with the plan said. Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth visited troops at Union Station a day earlier, underscoring the administration’s effort to keep public-safety issues at the forefront.