Washington, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser opened the door for federal agents to continue policing the district indefinitely as President Trump’s emergency order tackling crime in the nation’s capital is set to expire.
Bowser issued an order on Tuesday requiring local law enforcement to cooperate with their federal counterparts “to the maximum extent allowable by law within the District,” the Washington Post reported. The order has no expiration date.
She signed the directive three weeks after Trump called in troops to clean up the capital’s streets and before the president’s federal takeover of DC’s local police force is set to expire next week after 30 days is up.
The new order will “provide the pathway forward beyond the Presidential emergency,” the mayor wrote on X.
Bowser touted the accomplishments of the federal intervention and crime crackdown in the district, including its impact on the homeless population.
“Outreach teams identified 764 total individuals living outside, with 81 people living in tents,” the release stated. “Since the start of the surge, approximately 80 additional individuals have entered the District’s shelter system.”
The president also lauded the program’s success.
“We don’t have a crime problem in Washington anymore,” Trump told reporters Tuesday. “And the mayor has been very helpful.”
He previously noted that there have been only two homicides since the federal takeover on Aug 11.
“It’s like a different city. It’s the capital and it’s going to be the best in the world,” Trump said during a visit to a Park Police operations center last month.
The commander in chief heaped praise on Bowser on social media, claiming that her popularity has risen “25%” in a post to Truth Social.
“Wow! Mayor Muriel Bowser of DC has become very popular because she worked with me and my great people in bringing CRIME down to virtually NOTHING in DC,” Trump wrote Monday.
At a press conference last week, Bowser boasted that since the federal intervention, DC has seen an 87% drop in carjackings and a 45% decrease in all violent crime during the period.
National Guard troops have even been tasked with beautifying the capital, with many camouflage-wearing troops doing custodial work, including picking up trash, removing graffiti, and even raking leaves.
DC Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela Smith, caving to President Trump’s federal pressure, issued an order last month allowing her cops to cooperate with and notify Immigration and Customs Enforcement of suspected illegal immigrants not in MPD custody.
