D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said she wants to clarify the fact that her order outlining how the District will work with federal law enforcement after Sept. 10 does not extend President Donald Trump’s crime emergency.
“It does the exact opposite. It lays out a framework to exit this period,” Bowser said Wednesday.
Yesterday’s Mayor’s Order does not extend the Presidential emergency.
It does the exact opposite. It lays out a framework to exit this period.
I want the message to be clear to the Congress: We have a framework, and we don’t need a Presidential emergency. pic.twitter.com/Oz9qilzMm2
— Mayor Muriel Bowser (@MayorBowser) September 3, 2025
Her reassurance comes a day after she issued the order, spelling out how the District will address crime, homelessness, beautification and other challenges facing the city with federal law enforcement.
“It is a framework that we will use inside government to deal during the emergency and after the emergency,” Bowser said.
Bowser said what the order does not do is seek to extend the federal law enforcement surge in the city. She said only Congress can extend the president’s emergency declaration, and she added people should not read too much into the fact that her order does not have an end date.
“Some of my mayor’s orders have end dates, and others are rescinded by a follow-up order, and that’s how this one will be dealt with,” Bowser said.
She also pushed back on the idea that the order welcomes a continued federal law enforcement surge in the city.
But Council member Brianne Nadeau said Bowser’s order signals “her plan to collaborate indefinitely with federal law enforcement, to capitulate in advance.”
Nadeau, in a statement, argued that Bowser’s words and actions indicated that the mayor has “welcomed the federal police” patrolling D.C. streets.
In an interview with WTOP’s Nick Iannelli, Nadeau said she will continue fighting to get this “military occupation” off D.C.’s streets.
“We always have a choice in the face of tyranny and overreach and, in this case, a military occupation of our own city,” she said. ” There are ways that we can continue to support our residents while fighting back against President Trump; this is not it.”
The order formally establishes the Safe and Beautiful Emergency Operations Center, which will coordinate with federal agencies. The order also assigns deputy mayors and other officials as points of contact for the federal government on issues including reducing crime and addressing homelessness.
The order calls for federal law enforcement to not wear masks, clearly identify themselves and provide ID’s during arrests.
And when it comes to immigration enforcement, Bowser said D.C. police are required to assist federal officials under an emergency, but she raised concerns about how U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents are operating.
“Our deployment and our resources have to be used on violent criminals, and I can’t say that that ICE activity is getting violent criminals — for the most part,” Bowser said.
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