Mayor Muriel Bowser has issued an order requiring ongoing local coordination with Donald Trump’s federal takeover of Washington, D.C.
Trump invoked Section 740 of the Home Rule Act last month in order to take emergency control of D.C.’s policing and send in members of the National Guard, ICE and other government agencies to assist the Metropolitan Police Department in cleaning up urban crime.
The act sets a 30-day timeframe on the president’s emergency declaration, a period that will expire next week unless an an extension is granted by Congress, but the mayor’s announcement looks beyond that September 10 deadline to allow for continued dialogue with Trump’s forces.
Her order also establishes a Safe and Beautiful Emergency Operations Center, whose role will be to “manage the district’s response, coordinate centralized communications, and ensure coordination with federal law enforcement to the maximum extent allowable by law within the district.”
Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, Bowser disputed the idea that her order amounted to any kind of concession to the administration, commenting instead: “The mayor’s order does not extend the Trump emergency. In fact, it does the exact opposite. What it does is lays out a framework for how we will exit the emergency.”
Her instructions might be interpreted as an attempt to regain control of her district by setting the terms for interactions between local officials and the troops making up Trump’s “Safe and Beautiful Task Force.”
Bowser’s order further insists that federal agents identify themselves clearly in interactions with the public on the streets of Washington and refers to the current state of play as “the Presidential emergency” and as a “federal surge,” making it plain that the takeover is a White House initiative and not her’s.
While the likes of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson have spoken out angrily about the prospect of Trump doing the same in other Democrat-run cities, Bowser has “delighted” the administration with her pragmatism, according to officials cited by The Washington Post.
She has reportedly met with Attorney General Pam Bondi, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Stephen Miller in the interest of staying onside and having a voice in ongoing law enforcement discussions.
“I think she’s very smart to be doing this,” a senior official told the Post, adding that they appreciate the mayor’s “candor and recognizing she needed help.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has also praised her, saying the administration is “grateful to continue partnering with Mayor Bowser to make DC the safest city in the country,” adding that her fellow Democrats “should take note, working with President Trump means safer communities and less crime – no one in their right mind could seriously oppose that.”
Speaking to reporters Tuesday, Trump himself beamed: “We don’t have a crime problem in Washington anymore... The mayor has been very helpful.”
Elsewhere, however, Bowser has expressed concern about ICE agents in particular “terrorizing communities” with their raids on undocumented migrants by arresting people in front of schools, restaurants and places of business and said she believes the presence of the Guard is not necessary and an example of overreach.
Her argument on that latter point appears to be backed up by the news this week that its members have picked up more than 500 bags of trash as part of their duties, despite being sent out on a law and order beat.
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