Fact Sheets

# Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Restores Law and Order in the District of Columbia

The White House
August 11, 2025

SECURING THE SAFETY AND PEACEFUL FUNCTIONING OF OUR NATION’S CAPITAL: Today, President Donald J. Trump signed a Presidential Memorandum to restore law and order in the District of Columbia.

- The Memorandum directs the Secretary of Defense to mobilize the District of Columbia National Guard to address the epidemic of crime in our Nation’s capital.
- The District of Columbia National Guard will remain mobilized until law and order is restored.
- The Memorandum directs the Secretary of Defense to coordinate with State Governors and authorize the orders of any additional National Guard units as needed.

RESTORING LAW AND ORDER: Washington, D.C. is under siege from out-of-control violent crime, and Federal intervention is now necessary to secure the safety and peaceful functioning of our Nation, the Federal government, and our city.

- Washington, D.C. is a Federal city because it is the seat of our Nation’s government. Violent crime that prevents Federal workers from safely performing their duties and prevents Americans from safely accessing their elected officials is a threat not just to the city, but to the Nation.
- The local D.C. government has lost control of public safety in the city.
  - In May, two embassy staffers were murdered.
  - In June, a Congressional intern was fatally shot just a short distance from the White House.
  - Just days ago, a Trump Administration staffer was mercilessly beaten by a violent mob.
- Washington, D.C. has a violent crime rate that is higher than some of the most dangerous places in the world.
  - Washington, DC’s 2024 murder rate (27.54 per 100K) is higher than Bogota (15.1), Mexico City (10.6), Islamabad (9.2), Lima (7.6), and even major capitals like Paris (1.64), London (1.1), and Madrid (0.96).

- President Trump has a Constitutional obligation to restore order so that citizens, tourists, and staff can live peacefully in the Nation’s capital. Our Nation’s capital should be the envy of the world, not a disgrace.

MAKING AMERICA SAFE AGAIN: President Trump campaigned on the promise to make America safe again and restore Washington, D.C. to glory.

- On President Trump’s first return to Washington since leaving office in 2021, he lamented “the filth and the decay” that marred the Nation’s capital in his absence.
- President Trump later promised that his Administration would “take over the horribly run capital of our nation, Washington, D.C., and clean it up, renovate it, and rebuild our capital city so that it is no longer a nightmare of murder and crime, but rather it will become the most beautiful capital anywhere in the world.”
- In March, President Trump created a task force to make D.C. safe and beautiful, surging law enforcement to restore order and enhance the city’s infrastructure.
- The Administration is committed to reducing violent crime rates, improving public safety, and ensuring Washington, D.C. serves as a model of prosperity and security for the nation.
- President Trump: “Just like I took care of the Border, where you had ZERO Illegals coming across last month, from millions the year before, I will take care of our cherished Capital, and we will make it, truly, GREAT AGAIN! Before the tents, squalor, filth, and Crime, it was the most beautiful Capital in the World. It will soon be that again.”

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