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It’s the second full week of a federal law enforcement surge ordered in D.C. by the administration of President Donald Trump and it’s still only just the beginning. This week has seen everything from a Humvee crushing a commercial vehicle, to “Biggest Loser” trainer Jillian Michaels igniting a firestorm on CNN by defending Trump’s controversial push to censor Smithsonian exhibits on slavery.
So where does the city stand now? Let’s break it down:
Monday
Trump said the reason for the increased police presence was to combat crime in D.C. that he described as “very out of control” — and that has headlined global newscasts.
He boasted Monday that people are now more comfortable going to dinner in the District, saying, “the restaurants, the last two days, were busier than they’ve been in a long time.” Data from OpenTable, however, disproved that and showed an average 25.67% decrease in restaurant reservations in the city.
Mayor Muriel Bowser continued to double down that crime in the District is at a 30-year low. At a press conference Monday, Bowser said there is “no takeover” of the city, but rather a surge in federal law enforcement that was coordinating with D.C. police and Chief Pamela Smith.
“It doesn’t make sense. You know it doesn’t make sense,” Bowser said of the law enforcement deployment intended to quell what Trump called a surge in crime, which is not supported by statistics.
By Monday, a total of six states approved the deployment of their National Guard troops to D.C.:
- West Virginia – 400
- South Carolina – 200
- Ohio – 150
- Mississippi – 200
- Tennessee – 160
- Louisiana – 135
Now, over 2,000 National Guard members are estimated to be in D.C.
Asked whether she thought sending in the guard from other states diminished her authority, Bowser said: “I don’t have any authority over the D.C. Guard or any other Guards, but I think it is, kind of makes the point that this is not about D.C. crime.”
Tuesday
On Tuesday, the Department of Justice opened an investigation into whether police officials in D.C. falsified data to make crime data appear lower than in reality, the New York Times reported.
Despite Trump’s claims that violent crime is getting worse, the city’s former U.S. attorney, Ed Martin, reported in April that D.C. police data showed a 25% decrease in violent crime. Jeanine Pirro, the city’s current U.S. attorney, joined the president in zeroing in on D.C.’s crime laws, especially those involving minors.
In line with his March executive order, a task force delegated to make D.C. “safe, beautiful and prosperous” has streamlined the city’s concealed carry permitting process and Pirro’s office will no longer bring felony charges against people for possessing rifles or shotguns.
“We will continue to seize all illegal and unlicensed firearms, and to vigorously prosecute all crimes connected with them,” Pirro said, adding that she and Trump “are committed to prosecuting gun crime.”
Wednesday
The increased federal law enforcement presence in D.C. expanded Wednesday as Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth joined soldiers at Union Station.
“You guys are doing a hell of a job,” Vance told the troops assembled at the station’s Shake Shack. While protest chants echoed through the restaurant, he rejected polling that shows city residents don’t support the National Guard deployment as a solution to crime.
Stephen Miller, the White House’s deputy chief of staff, called those protesting outside the station and federal buildings “elderly, white hippies,” and said, “They’re no part of this city and never have been.”
“We’re going to ignore these stupid white hippies. They all need to go home and take a nap because they’re all over 90 years old,” Miller added.
Hours earlier, not far away in the Capitol Hill neighborhood, a sand-colored Humvee vehicle collided with a car, trapping the driver and sending them to the hospital with minor injuries.
In a video at the scene of the incident, an SUV with substantial damage and the Humvee can be seen at the intersection. The massive military transport, designed to withstand improvised explosive devices in war zones, towered over the crushed silver sport utility vehicle.
A woman can be heard saying, “You come into our city, and this is what you do?!”
At a D.C. Public Schools event, Bowser pivoted from the celebration at hand, answering a reporter’s question about the state of the nation’s capital simply with, “There has been no takeover.”
Thursday
Federal authorities also set up checkpoints around D.C. as some locals were detained after being asked about their immigration status. The development marked a furtherance of Trump’s crackdown on the alleged “crime crisis” in the city.
Since Aug. 7, when Trump began surging federal agents into the District, the White House said there have been 630 arrests, including that of 251 people who are in the country illegally.
A White House official told WTOP that between Aug. 9 and Aug. 17, there had been a total of 212 non-immigration related arrests. Of those, 101 arrests were in Wards 7 and 8.
Trump said he’d join troops on their patrols on Thursday. Instead, he spoke to them at the U.S. Park Police’s facility in Anacostia, handing out pizza and taking photos with service members.
“We’re going to make (D.C.) safe, and we’re going to go on to other places, but we’re going to stay here for a while,” he said. “One of the things we are going to be redoing is your parks. I’m very good at grass, because I have a lot of golf courses all over the place.”
Shortly after the speech, he returned to the White House in a motorcade, without patrolling any D.C. streets.
Friday
In a post on Instagram on Friday, Pirro said a total of 719 people have been arrested and 91 guns have been taken off the streets since Aug. 11.
She noted that this surge of law enforcement in the city all started from an attempted carjacking and attack of a former “Department of Government Efficiency” employee.
The two teenagers from Maryland who are accused of attacking the former DOGE employee were granted “step down” detention, which is a shift from secure juvenile custody to less restrictive arrangements.
“This is exactly what I’m talking about. This is why I want jurisdiction of these cases, because as a prosecutor, it’s time to prosecute these individuals so they get an understand the consequences of what they have done,” Pirro said.
In another escalation of the Trump administration’s changes to the city’s policing forces, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered that National Guard troops patrolling D.C. streets can be armed.
There were no signs that the National Guard’s role in D.C. would be changing. The troops have not taken part in law enforcement and largely have been protecting landmarks including the National Mall and Union Station and helping with crowd control.
Bowser spoke with WTOP’s Scott Gelman on Friday, saying the National Guard shouldn’t be used for policing, and: “I think there are some legal questions that are going to be raised by that.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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