‘If D.C. doesn’t get its act together, and quickly, we will have no choice but to take Federal control of the City,’ President Donald Trump said.
President Donald Trump on Tuesday threatened to federalize the governance of Washington, D.C., over criminal activity in the federal district.
“Washington, D.C., must be safe, clean, and beautiful for all Americans and, importantly, for the World to see,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social, demanding that the city change its laws around prosecuting underaged offenders.
The demand comes after a man was brutally assaulted in the city. The identity of the perpetrators is unclear but Trump stated that the victim was a member of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the brainchild of Elon Musk designed to reduce government waste and abuse.
“Somebody from DOGE was very badly hurt last night,” Trump told reporters at the White House in response to a question about DOGE spending cuts.
“A young man … was beat up by a bunch of thugs in D.C. And either they’re going to straighten their act out in terms of government and in terms of protection, or we’re going to have to federalize and run it the way it’s supposed to be run,” Trump said.
In his post on Truth Social, Trump attached a graphic image of the victim, covered in blood due to the assault.
Musk posted to X that the assault happened because “a gang of about a dozen young men tried to assault a woman in her car at night.” The DOGE team member saw it and “ran to defend her and was severely beaten to the point of concussion, but he saved her.”
Though the crime rate in Washington has gone down in recent years—with a 35 percent drop in violent crime in 2024 compared to the previous year—Trump said that crime in the federal district is still “out of control.”
“If D.C. doesn’t get its act together, and quickly, we will have no choice but to take Federal control of the City, and run this City how it should be run, and put criminals on notice that they’re not going to get away with it anymore,” Trump added.
By Joseph Lord
