Reporting by Joey Garrison and Zachary Schermele, USA TODAY Network
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump’s 30-day public emergency declaration in Washington is set to expire after Sept. 10, ending the federal takeover of the city’s police department but not the presence of the military in the nation’s capital.
Trump’s deployment of thousands of National Guard troops to the District of Columbia aren’t affected by the deadline and will remain on the city’s streets.
Here’s what we know as the takeover of the district’s Metropolitan Police Department ends.
What happens after the 30-day mark?
Trump on Aug. 11 signed an executive order declaring a crime emergency in Washington, invoking a section in the federal Home Rule Act of 1973 that allows him to direct the district to give his administration control of the police department for 30 days.
The Republican two-term president tapped Attorney General Pam Bondi to take temporary command of the district’s police department and named Terry Cole, administrator of the Drug Enforcement Agency, the interim federal commissioner of the police department.
Immigration enforcement is one of the key areas the Trump administration has ordered up cooperation from the district’s police.
Maintaining the federalized police force beyond 30 days, however, would have required action from Congress. House Speaker Mike Johnson has said he won’t work to extend the deadline.
Mayor Muriel Bowser told reporters the end of the 30-day public emergency will mean “the MPD is not compelled to give MPD services, as directed by the president. That’s what changes.”
What about the National Guard?
More than 2,000 National Guard troops deployed to Washington will still patrol the city’s streets as part of Trump’s crime crackdown even after the emergency ends.
Trump turned to a special authority available to him because of the district’s unique status as a federal enclave to deploy the National Guard to Washington. It was a separate action from the 30-day emergency and police takeover.
Brig. Gen. Leland D. Blanchard II, interim commanding general for the DC National Guard, last week extended the Guard’s deployment to Nov. 30.
“I’ve made the decision to extend the encampment, as we continue to work to ensure that everyone that walks through these city streets is safe,” Blanchard said in a video. “They deserve that. You deserve that. Our nation deserves that.”
What’s next for DC?
Bowser, who has cooperated with Trump’s actions, on Sept. 2 issued an executive order that she called a “path forward” after the emergency expires.
The order requires local district officials to coordinate with federal law enforcement agencies “to the maximum extent allowable by law within,” listing off several federal agencies such as the U.S. Marshals Service, Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Park Police. Not included on the list is U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. There is no expiration for the order.
“MPD will continue to work with our federal agencies as we’ve always done in ways that are strategic for public safety,” Bowser said.
The mayor added: “I want to make this perfectly clear to people wanting to do crime in the district. It’s still illegal. Shooting somebody – still illegal. Committing carjackings – still illegal. Stealing from stores – still illegal. That won’t change on Sept. 11.”
Has Trump’s DC crackdown reduced crime?
Trump has hailed his crime crackdown in the district as a wild success, and even Bowser has agreed the increased federal presence has helped reduce the number of homicides, carjackings and gun crimes.
Yet Trump has exaggerated the scale of the turnaround, saying that the district now has “literally no crime” and describing a city where people were too scared to eat at restaurants before his takeover. Violent crime was already down in DC by 26% from 2024 when Trump announced his takeover.
At least five homicides have occurred in the district over the past 30 days, according to MPD data, during a period that included a 13-day streak of no homicides from Aug. 13 to 26.
According to the White House, 2,310 total arrests have been made since the operation started, including 20 known gang members, as well as seven missing children rescued, 225 firearms seized and 50 homeless camps cleared.
“DC today is far safer than it was a month ago thanks to President Trump’s bold leadership,” White Hosue spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said in a statement to USA TODAY. “The Trump Administration looks forward to continued coordination with local leaders and encourages other Democrats to follow Mayor Bowser’s lead.”
While recognizing the last month’s crime reduction, Bowser has also said the federal intervention has led to a “break in trust” between the community and law enforcement.
Which city will Trump target next?
Trump has said he plans to send the National Guard to other cities to expand his crime crackdown ‒ and he appears close to announcing a decision on his next target.
Trump last week floated New Orleans, where he’s gotten cooperation from the state’s Republican Gov. Jeff Landry, as a possibility to send the National Guard next rather than Chicago, where Trump’s repeated threats have drawn resistance from Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat.
Trump seemed to hint that New Orleans could be the pick in remarks to reporters Sept. 9 before he dined at a popular Washington seafood and steakhouse just around the block from the White House.
“We’re going to be announcing another city that we’re going to very shortly. We’re working it out with the governor of a certain state that would love us to be there and the mayor of a certain city in the same state,” Trump said.
Could Congress target DC?
The same day Trump’s emergency control of district’s police was set to expire, a committee in the House of Representatives began considering more than a dozen bills that would exert more federal control over the city and change some of its crime laws.
One measure would prohibit camping on public property to crack down on homelessness. Another would allow kids as young as 14 to be tried as adults for certain crimes. Another would permit the White House, instead of residents, to appoint the district’s attorney general.
Brian Schwalb, Washington’s current attorney general, blasted the proposal on social media as lawmakers prepared to debate it.
“DC laws should not be written by people who don’t know how DC actually works,” he wrote on X.
Reach Joey Garrison @joeygarrison.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump’s 30-day takeover of the DC police is ending. What happens next?
Reporting by Joey Garrison and Zachary Schermele, USA TODAY Network