On September 15, US President Donald Trump said he was prepared to declare a national emergency and place Washington under federal control. He cited as grounds the decision by District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser to end the Metropolitan Police Department’s (MPD) cooperation with immigration enforcement agency ICE after the expiration of the August emergency management regime. Trump argues that refusing to work with ICE will lead to rising crime; the fact that the DC National Guard already answers directly to the president adds to the risk of full federalization.
The legal basis for White House intervention is Section 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act: the president may require the mayor to assign MPD services for “federal purposes” in a state of “emergency,” provided Congress is notified within 48 hours. Such a regime is limited to 30 days unless Congress extends it through a joint resolution.
On August 11, the White House had already declared a “Crime Emergency in the District of Columbia,” delegating operational control of the MPD to the US Attorney General; on August 25, additional measures were issued to expand that order. This 30-day period ended on September 10.
After the order expired, Bowser maintained coordination with federal agencies through the “Safe and Beautiful Emergency Operations Center,” established on September 2, but excluded MPD cooperation with ICE: “Immigration enforcement is not what MPD does.”
The August “surge” was marked by mass arrests. According to The Washington Post, more than 1,200 people were detained in a month; critics point to aggressive tactics and the risks of profiling. Separate analysis indicates that a significant share of the arrests were linked to immigration-related cases.
Legal battles are ongoing. The DC Attorney General’s Office has filed a lawsuit challenging the White House’s interpretation of its authority under Section 740, while ACLU-DC criticized the MPD chief’s August 14 order on “limited cooperation” with ICE as both dangerous and excessive.
Congress is simultaneously considering conflicting initiatives: Joint Resolution H.J.Res.114 proposes extending the emergency regime imposed on August 11, while H.J.Res.115 calls for its termination. As the 30-day period expires, the House Oversight Committee is also advancing a reform package that would roll back elements of the District’s local autonomy.
Thus, after the end of the August order, the conflict between the White House and the mayor’s office has shifted from practical cooperation with ICE into legal and political arenas—from the prospect of a new emergency declaration to a battle of resolutions on Capitol Hill.