Vance Says D.C. Police Takeover an Example for Other Cities

The Washington Post

17:26 JST, August 21, 2025

Vice President JD Vance and other Trump administration officials suggested Wednesday that the federal takeover of policing in D.C. could serve as a test case for other cities across the country as they tried to amplify the issue.

Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Deputy White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller visited Union Station on Wednesday to greet troops and tout the presence of federal law enforcement there, as the Trump administration continues to portray D.C. as “one of the most violent cities on planet Earth,” a depiction at odds with crime data.

“Union Station is a great symbol of what’s possible when you actually have the political willpower to bring law and order and common decency back to the public spaces of the United States of America,” Vance told a small gathering of troops at the Shake Shack inside the train station. “So many Americans live in cities. They occupy these spaces. They know how unsafe they are, and they would love to be able to just live their life in places like Union Station without violent criminals making it impossible.”

As Vance spoke, a mix of the authorities Trump has called to the District, including National Guard troops and federal agents, joined D.C. police officers who were inside Union Station. A small group of protesters yelled “Free D.C.” and other chants from the concourse in objection to the officials’ visit, attracting a crowd of reporters and passersby. Some travelers joined in as they hurried into the station.

According to a Washington Post-Schar School poll, the overwhelming majority of D.C. residents oppose President Donald Trump’s takeover of D.C. police, with 65 percent saying they do not believe his actions will make the city safer from violent crime.

Vance dismissed the protesters as “crazy liberals,” while Miller later claimed without evidence that they had no connections to Washington and were communists. Miller added that, “inspired” by the protesters, the Trump administration would bring in thousands of additional law enforcement resources to the city.

Miller also claimed that the dramatic influx of National Guard troops in the nation’s capital was meant to protect the city’s Black residents, who he erroneously said make up a majority of Washington’s population.

“This is not a city that has had any safety for its Black citizens for generations, and President Trump is the one who is fixing that with his support of the Metropolitan Police Department, his support of the National Guard and our federal law enforcement officers,” Miller said. “So we’re going to ignore these stupid White hippies who all need to go home and take a nap because they’re all over 90 years old, and we’re going to get back to the business of protecting the American people and the citizens.”

Trump’s takeover of policing in D.C. is in its second week of a 30-day period, and Vance did not rule out an extension.

“I think that we’re going to make a lot of progress over the next 20 days. I think we’re nine days into this thing,” he said. “But if the president of the United States thinks that he has to extend this order to ensure that people have access to public safety, then that’s exactly what he’ll do.”

In announcing the takeover of the city’s police department on Aug. 11, Trump said he would also deploy 800 D.C. National Guard troops to help fight crime in the nation’s capital. In recent days, Republican governors from at least six states said they would send hundreds of additional troops to aid in the effort, deployments that are federally funded.

The D.C. National Guard has conducted patrols on foot in the city. Troops are not making arrests at the time, the White House said, and may be armed.

City officials have repeatedly questioned the need for the additional troops. On Wednesday, a reporter asked D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) whether she felt it was right for National Guard troops to be at locations including transit hubs, or if she would rather see them in high-crime neighborhoods.

“I don’t think the National Guard should be used for law enforcement,” Bowser said. “And I think calling men and women from their homes and their jobs and their families, they have to be used on mission-specific items that benefit the nation. I don’t think you [should] have an armed militia in the nation’s capital.”

Also Wednesday, the White House said more than 550 arrests have been made since Aug. 7, including the seizure of 76 firearms. It has declined to answer questions regarding additional details about who was arrested. The U.S. Marshals Service, meanwhile, has announced a $500 reward for tips that lead to an arrest in D.C.