Trump’s National Guard Deployment in DC is not about keeping us safer or supporting local police

President Donald Trump has attempted to justify an unprecedented federal takeover of Washington, D.C.’s police – including deploying National Guard troops – by claiming violent crime in the capital is “out of control.” 

Trump’s order comes despite evidence that crime in D.C. is declining.  Mayor Muriel Bowser noted that overall violent crime had declined by 26% in 2024–2025, saying “None of those conditions exist in our city right now.  We are not experiencing a spike in crime. In fact, we’re watching our crime numbers go down”.   

Bowser questioned the National Guard plan’s effectiveness and argued the federal government “could be far more helpful by funding more prosecutors or filling the 15 vacancies on the D.C. Superior Court”, rather than militarizing city streets.

Trump’s hardline stance starkly contrasts with his administration’s actions, which have significantly cut funding and support for local law enforcement and community anti-violence efforts.  On April 22, 2025, the Trump Justice Department abruptly terminated 373 federal grants supporting state and local public safety programs.  

These grants were initially valued at $820 million (with roughly $500 million left unspent) and funded at least 554 organizations in 48 states, including many community-based violence intervention projects, local policing initiatives, victim services, youth programs, and mental health and substance abuse treatment related to crime prevention. 

The cuts came with no warning, forcing many nonprofits and local agencies to scale back or cancel programs credited with saving lives and reducing violence in partnership with police. Even some law enforcement agencies lost support when over 473 minigrants or “subawards” were fully eliminated – for example, about $5 million in sub-grants intended for rural police efforts to reduce violence were rescinded.

The widespread grant cancellations have drawn condemnation from public safety experts who say they will make communities less safe. Thomas Abt, a former DOJ official and director the Violence Reduction Center at the University of Maryland, criticized the move: “Not only are these funds being pulled away from worthy investments that will save lives, but the way that this was done – by pulling authorized funding without warning – is going to create a lasting legacy of mistrust.”

Local violence prevention programs, which often work alongside police to defuse conflicts and prevent shootings, have been “decimated” at the very moment they’re most needed. 

Amy Solomon, a senior fellow at the Council on Criminal Justice (and former DOJ grant director), noted in May 2025 that “these programs are having to cut staff and services, and that will be felt in communities in states all over teh country at exactly the time when they’re most needed." 

And after these cuts, President Trump’s proposed 2026 budget proposes another $850 million reduction in Justice Department programs that support local police departments and violence protection.

The contrast between rhetoric and resources is clear. While President Trump calls in federal forces to “restore law and order” in D.C., his administration has been pulling away the very funding streams used to fight violent crime and address its root causes at the local level.