'This will go further': Can Trump federalize local police in other U.S. cities?
President Donald Trump says his takeover of Washington, D.C.'s police force and his deployment of the National Guard should put other cities on notice. Legal experts say, outside of the nation's capital, the president's power is limited.
President Donald Trump says his takeover of Washington, D.C.'s police force and his deployment of the National Guard should put other cities on notice. Legal experts say, outside of the nation's capital, the president's power is limited.
President Donald Trump says his takeover of Washington, D.C.'s police force and his deployment of the National Guard should put other cities on notice. Legal experts say, outside of the nation's capital, the president's power is limited.
President Donald Trump says his takeover of Washington, D.C.'s police force and his deployment of the National Guard should put other cities on notice, as his administration aims to crack down on crime and homelessness.
"We have other cities also that are bad, very bad," Trump said at a news conference on Monday, calling out Democrat-led cities like Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, and Baltimore."This will go further. We're starting very strongly with D.C., and we're going to clean it up real quick."
But legal experts say, outside of the nation's capital, the president's power to take those steps is more limited.
Meryl Chertoff, a law professor at Georgetown University, said the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects states from "excessive interference by the federal government."
"For the most part, public safety is one of the plenary police powers that are enjoyed by governors and are shared with municipal governments, and that was the vision of the founders, so as not to have excessive power concentrated in Washington, D.C.," Chertoff said.
Notably, Washington, D.C., is not a state. Federal law gives the president unique power over the city. The Home Rule Act allows Trump to temporarily take over the metropolitan police department during emergencies.
"That kind of framework does not apply in other cities," said Laura Dickinson, a law professor at George Washington University Law School.
The president can also call up the National Guard in D.C., but those decisions are normally made by state governors. Dickinson said the president can federalize the guard in certain cases, but, historically, it's rare.
"If the governors are not asking for it, you have to ask, has law and order completely broken down? Is it truly a last resort? And, if not, then I think there's a strong case that it's not lawful," Dickinson said.
Trump bypassed California Gov. Gavin Newsom when he deployed the National Guard earlier this year in response to immigration protests in Los Angeles. It's now the subject of an ongoing legal battle.
Washington, D.C., Attorney General Brian Scwalb called the administration's recent actions targeting crime in the city "unprecedented, unnecessary, and unlawful."
"There is no crime emergency in the District of Columbia," Schwalb "We are considering all of our options and will do what is necessary to protect the rights and safety of District residents."