President Donald Trump has threatened to take control of Washington, D.C., to deal with crime in America's capital.
"We would run it so good, it would be run so proper, we'd get the best person to run it," Trump said during a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday. "And we know the crime would be down to a minimum, would be much less. And, you know, we're thinking about doing it, to be honest with you."
D.C. has limited autonomy under the 1973 Home Rule Act, which enables locals to choose their own mayor and city council, but all laws require approval from Congress.
Trump said his chief of staff Susie Wiles is working closely with mayor Muriel Bowser (D), who earlier this year submitted to pressure from Trump to clear homeless encampments and remove the large "Black Lives Matter" mural that was painted on a downtown street during the George Floyd upheaval.
"We want a capital that's run flawlessly, and it wouldn't be hard for us to do it. And we've had a good relationship with the mayor and we're testing it to see if it works," Trump said.
Crime in the city spiked in the early 2020s, exposing regular citizens and even public officials to carjackings, assaults, and other violent acts. So far this year, violent crime has fallen 25%, but homicides have remained flat compared to the same time in 2024.
The recent murder of a Republican intern in the D.C.'s northwestern area served as a grim reminder that the city is far from safe.
At Tuesday's Cabinet Meeting, Trump also said he would clean up New York if socialist Zohran Mamdani is elected mayor.
"We're not going to have -- 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," Trump said.
New York's mayoral race has attracted nationwide attention after Mamdani, a young socialist assemblyman, won an upset in the Democratic primary. Mamdani's radical views have led critics, including Trump, to label him a dangerous "communist."
Trump, a Queens native, continues to express affection for his hometown years after he stopped living there permanently, and his administration is leading the renovation of Penn Station, despite hostility between Trump and New York's Democratic governor, Kathy Hochul.
The president has often lamented New York's recent decline, and he has made similar comments about D.C., calling the conditions in America's capital unacceptable. In response to his latest remarks about a takeover, mayor Bowser highlighted her efforts to be cooperative.
“These comments have been made for two years,” she said. “I think our approach to working with the President has been a good one: to focus on our shared priorities, which we have."
