Trump says he's weighing a federal takeover of Washington, DC

Josh Wingrove, Bloomberg News on Jul 8, 2025

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WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said his administration is weighing whether to take control of the city of Washington, D.C., to help combat crime, in a move that would represent a dramatic upheaval to the capital’s half-century of home rule.

“We could run D.C. I mean, we’re looking at D.C.,” Trump said during a Cabinet meeting Tuesday, where he was holding court at length in front of cameras. “We’re thinking about doing it, to be honest with you. We want a capital that’s run flawlessly.”

Trump said that his chief of staff, Susie Wiles, is in touch with the mayor of Washington, Muriel Bowser. He did not specify what he meant by the White House potentially running the city.

Bowser, a Democrat, has cultivated a closer relationship with Trump during his second term, visiting the White House to tout legislative efforts to ensure the city’s National Football League franchise can build a new stadium at the site of its former home near the Anacostia River and removing the Black Lives Matter plaza near the White House. Still, Trump has occasionally criticized the city over its crime rate and homeless encampments.

“We’ve had a good relationship with the mayor, and we’re testing it to see if it works,” Trump said.

Legislation passed in 1973 granted residents of DC the right to elect their own local government, though Congress is still able to review local laws and the city’s budget. Residents of the city don’t have voting representatives in the Congress.

Trump made the comment after warning against the prospect of Zohran Mamdani winning the New York mayor’s race. Trump said New Yorkers should not vote for Mamdani in November, calling him a “communist,” and went so far as vaguely suggesting interest in exerting some federal influence on the city.

“If a communist gets elected to run New York, it can never be the same, but we have tremendous power at the White House to run places when we have to,” he said, before pivoting to discussing Washington.

He later added: “New York City will run properly. We’re going to bring New York back.” He didn’t elaborate.

Mamdani, a self-described democratic socialist, won the Democratic primary election held last month. He’ll face incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, who’s running as an independent, Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa and former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

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(With assistance from Laura Nahmias.)