Trump takes over DC police in extraordinary move, deploys National Guard in capital

U.S. President Donald Trump arrives for a Purple Heart Day event to honor members of the military wounded or killed in action, in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., August 7, 2025. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday he was deploying 800 National Guard troops to Washington and temporarily taking over the city's police department, an extraordinary assertion of presidential power in the nation's capital.

Trump's move, which bypassed the city's elected leaders, was emblematic of his second-term approach, which has seen him wield executive authority in ways with little precedent in modern U.S. history and in defiance of political norms.