During a recent visit to Washington, D.C., I approached a group of National Guard troops in military fatigues and combat boots posted in Dupont Circle, an affluent and scenic neighborhood, to ask how they felt about their mission. They told me they had been dispatched from South Carolina, and they felt they were helping keep the capital safe. When I pointed out that D.C. was already experiencing a 30-year low in violent crime and that they were stationed in a rich and safe area, one of them breezily countered that D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser had herself said that the presence of extra force in the city had contributed to a huge downturn in crime. “Honestly, I’m feeling really good about being here,” he told me with a grin.
It was an unpleasant exchange — and it illustrated the costs of the mayor’s controversial approach to handling President Donald Trump’s despotic militarization of D.C. life.
Trump has reveled in Bowser’s more positive rhetoric and exploited it aggressively.
Bowser has tried to walk a fine line since Trump deployed National Guard troops and federal law enforcement officers in D.C. and took over the Metropolitan Police Department. Though she initially objected to the actions as “authoritarian,” Bowser at the same time has also gone out of her way to cooperate with and flatter Trump, both through rhetoric and through policy decisions. That has delighted the president and provided him with ammunition as he seeks to replicate military deployment across the country.
A news conference last week distills the mayor’s contradictory approach to the situation. Bowser referred to D.C.’s autonomy as “our north star” and criticized Trump’s actions as causing a “break in trust between police and community” and generating “fear” among the city’s residents.
But at the same gathering she also credited federal law enforcement officers with having a positive effect on crime rates. “We greatly appreciate the surge of officers that enhance what MPD has been able to do in this city,” she said. Bowser pointed out “an extreme reduction in carjackings” and a decrease in homicides and gun crimes. She also said, “We think that there’s more accountability in the system, or at least perceived accountability in the system, that is driving down illegal behavior.”
And on Monday Bowser signed an executive order that, according to The Washington Post, “ordered indefinite coordination between the city and federal law enforcement officials, a powerful indication of her willingness to cooperate with President Donald Trump’s effort to take over public safety in the capital city.” The order mandates local coordination with federal law enforcement “to the maximum extent allowable by law within the District.” (Trump’s authority to take over Washington’s policing is limited to 30 days without further authorization by Congress, but there is no limit on deployment of the National Guard.) The Post also reported that Bowser has spoken with Trump one-on-one multiple times in a manner that the Post described as “generally affable.”
Trump has reveled in Bowser’s more positive rhetoric and exploited it aggressively. “Wow! Mayor Muriel Bowser of D.C. has become very popular because she worked with me and my great people in bringing CRIME down to virtually NOTHING in D.C.” Trump posted on Truth Social on Monday. He added, “Wouldn’t it be nice to say that about Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, and even the Crime Drenched City of Baltimore???” Toward the end of his post, Trump issued a warning: “Congratulations to Mayor Muriel Bowser, but don’t go Woke on us. D.C. is a GIANT VICTORY that never has to end!!!”
And after Bowser's recent executive order, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt posted on X that Bowser's "fellow Democrats should take note, working with President Trump means safer communities and less crime — no one in their right mind could seriously oppose that."
By contrast, Bowser’s approach has infuriated progressive activists, unions and churches in D.C., a city where, according to a Washington Post poll, about 80% of residents oppose Trump’s federalization of law enforcement.
The reality is Bowser faces unique constraints as mayor of D.C. — the president has a lot of power to authorize federal law enforcement in D.C., and Congress oversees governance of the city. Moreover, as NBC News reports, “Bowser is at a disadvantage at a time when her administration is fighting to get Congress and Trump to reverse course on a law enacted this year that froze $1 billion in city money."
Bowser’s thinking might be that by behaving cooperatively and playing along she can avoid picking a fight with Trump or with Republicans in Congress who could try to extend Trump’s takeover of policing in D.C. and block funding for the city. She’s perhaps hoping that short-term pain will lead to potential longer-term gain.
But regardless of where you stand on that calculation, her decision to forgo resistance gives credibility to Trump’s tyrannical behavior. Bowser is helping normalize the idea that it is acceptable for a president to use federal power to usurp local law enforcement and National Guard troops to become a de facto policing power. The right is running with that narrative, as Trump angles to send National Guard troops next to Chicago. Bowser has had to make some genuinely tough calls, but her decision to cooperate with Trump even more than she needed to sets a troubling precedent.
