Jeanine Pirro, U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, celebrated on Monday what she called a milestone in Washington: 12 consecutive days without a homicide under President Donald Trump’s crime crackdown.
“Last night in DC: 86 arrests. 10 illegal guns seized. That brings the total to 1007 arrests and 111 illegal guns off the streets. We are on our 12th day with no homicides,” Pirro wrote on X. “Under President [Donald] Trump’s leadership, increased law enforcement is helping restore safety in DC. The goal is clear: a safer city for all.”
Last night in DC: 86 arrests. 10 illegal guns seized.
That brings the total to 1007 arrests and 111 illegal guns off the streets.
We are on our 12th day with no homicides.
Under President Trump’s leadership, increased law enforcement is helping restore safety in DC. The goal… pic.twitter.com/tL3Q5ACHvG
— Jeanine Pirro (@JudgeJeanine) August 25, 2025
Vice President JD Vance, speaking alongside Trump in the Oval Office on Monday, emphasized the figures were historic.
“In the past 20 or 30 years, D.C. has averaged a murder every other day. … We’ve been doing this for two weeks. Zero people killed,” Vance said. “That’s real lives saved that the media and, frankly, the entire Democratic Party should be saying, ‘Thank you for saving lives,’ instead of attacking the president of the United States for doing so.”
VP Vance slams the media for refusing to give credit to President Trump for cleaning up D.C.
“The media and frankly the entire Democrat party should be saying thank you for saving lives instead of attacking the President of the United States for doing so.” pic.twitter.com/SsBDgHwCeQ
— Media Research Center (@theMRC) August 25, 2025
Vance also lambasted Democratic governors who have resisted Trump’s proposals to expand federal policing measures to their states.
“Look at Gov. [JB] Pritzker in Illinois, or Gov. [Gavin] Newsom in Los Angeles, or Gov. [Wes] Moore in Maryland,” he said. “They are angrier about the fact that the president of the United States is offering to help them get their crime under control than they are about the fact that murderers are running roughshod over their cities. … It doesn’t make an ounce of sense to me.”
Trump signed executive orders on Monday expanding his federal authority in the district. One order directed the U.S. Park Police to add personnel, created a new specialized National Guard unit for public safety, and authorized federal housing, transportation, and justice officials to step up oversight of D.C. crime-related conditions.
A separate order targeted Washington’s controversial cashless bail system, instructing federal prosecutors to hold people under arrest in custody whenever possible and urging changes to district policies that Trump argued allow repeat offenders back on the streets too quickly.
The Defense Department has up to 1,700 National Guard troops set to mobilize in 19 states to support Trump’s broader crackdown on illegal immigration and crime. National Guard units in Texas, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, and other states could be placed on call from late August through mid-November, with the largest presence in Texas.
Even as Trump and his allies praise the immediate results, local law enforcement warns that deeper structural problems remain.
In an op-ed last week, D.C. Police Union Chairman Gregg Pemberton wrote that the federal takeover was “drastic but necessary” after years of staffing cuts, officer attrition, and what he called a “misguided reform agenda” from the D.C. Council.
NATIONAL GUARD MEMBERS BEGIN CARRYING HANDGUNS AND RIFLES IN DC
“The president’s takeover validates what our union has been saying for five years: D.C. police cannot function under current conditions,” Pemberton wrote. “Federal control is not a long-term solution, but it was a needed step. Now the D.C. Council must act — repeal failed reforms, invest in our force, and let us do our jobs.”
For now, the White House is pointing to the 12-day stretch without a homicide as proof its strategy is delivering results in Washington. Whether the gains can be sustained and replicated in other cities remains the central test of Trump’s crime crackdown.