As President Donald Trump begins his takeover of Washington by federalizing the local police and activating the National Guard to combat the crime rate, it appears Mayor Muriel Bowser does not want to test her limits with the administration.
The mayor indicated on Monday that local officials would comply with the federal government’s directive, although she did call the administration’s actions “unsettling and unprecedented.” Still, she struck a more cooperative tone than Democratic lawmakers in Congress and on the District of Columbia Council, who have made their outrage known in the hours since Trump’s announcement.
Bowser’s cautious approach is in stark contrast to her adversarial messaging during Trump’s first term.
Trump last deployed the National Guard in D.C. during the summer of 2020, when the Black Lives Matter riots were in full swing following the death of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer. At the time, Bowser demanded that Trump remove federal law enforcement and the military from the city as the riots continued.
In a letter to Trump, she said the increased law enforcement presence was further “inflaming demonstrators and adding to the grievances of those who, by and large, are peacefully protesting for change and reforms to the racist and broken systems that are killing Black Americans.”
The mayor was sympathetic to the racial justice movement, as seen in her decision to order the creation of the Black Lives Matter Plaza in 2020. The street once featured large yellow letters spelling out “Black Lives Matter.” The mural was removed earlier this year after Trump took office.
In 2022, Bowser testified to Congress that it would have been a “complete disaster” if Trump had federalized the Metropolitan Police Department in response to the racial riots. She also expressed concern that she would “lose the city” to violence.
This time around, she refused to categorize Trump’s deployment of the National Guard as a “complete disaster.”
When asked by a reporter on Monday whether she feared losing control of the city, Bowser responded, “I’m going to work every day to make sure it’s not a complete disaster.”
There was also friction between the two leaders over the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot, with Bowser blaming Trump for the incident at the time and calling him an “unhinged president.” She claimed the riot was a “textbook” example of domestic terrorism.
Trump similarly blamed Bowser for not stopping the riot, but her advisers were trying to reach the president that day.
Bowser tried to set the record straight on her response to the Jan. 6 riot, saying in September 2024 that she offered the MPD to support the Capitol Police. She noted that Trump did not deploy the D.C. National Guard to quell the riot, even though he had the authority to do so.
About 25,000 members of the National Guard, however, were deployed during the weeks after Jan. 6, including during Joe Biden’s inauguration. Soldiers maintained a visible presence in the district, with roughly 2,000 troops staying until May 2021.
Now that Trump is back in office, Bowser has taken steps to maintain a good relationship with him. She met with Trump before his second inauguration to discuss their “shared priorities” and identify ways to “find common ground,” according to a December 2024 statement from the mayor’s office.
“President Trump and I both want Washington, D.C., to be the best, most beautiful city in the world and we want the capital city to reflect the strength of our nation,” she said.
Bowser has an open line of communication with the second Trump administration. She has frequently spoken with the president over the phone, including one phone call over the weekend about deploying the National Guard. She did not expect the announcement to also be about federalizing D.C. police.
On Tuesday, Bowser and Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela Smith met with Attorney General Pam Bondi and other federal officials to discuss the takeover of the local police department.
Trump has acknowledged his amicable relationship with the Democratic mayor but said the local government is not doing enough to target criminals and clean up the city.
TRUMP’S DC POLICE TAKEOVER PUTS DEMOCRATS ON DEFENSE ON CRIME
Bowser stands by recent statistics showing the district experienced a 30-year low in violent crime last year, although she said more could always be done to lower crime rates. As of Tuesday, the MPD reports a 26% decrease in violent crimes and a 7% decrease in all crimes. Homicides are down 11%, compared to the same time last year.
Trump is looking to drive those numbers down even further by invoking his emergency authority under the Home Rule Act that allows the federal government to take temporary control of the MPD. The federal takeover is expected to last 30 days unless the Republican-controlled Congress votes to extend it.