By In a striking reversal, Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser publicly thanked President Donald Trump for his intervention in the city’s crime crisis, crediting federal measures with driving down violence at a scale local officials had long struggled to achieve. Speaking at a Wednesday press conference, Bowser pointed to an 87 percent drop in carjackings over just 20 days following the National Guard’s deployment and the federal government’s takeover of the Metropolitan Police Department.
“We greatly appreciate the surge of officers that enhance what MPD has been able to do in this city,” Bowser said. She emphasized the scale of the turnaround: “The difference between this period, this 20-day period of this federal surge, and last year represents a 87% reduction in carjackings in Washington, D.C.”
🚨NEW: DC Mayor Muriel Bowser says she's *GRATEFUL* for Trump's crime crackdown🚨
"We greatly appreciate the surge of officers that enhance what MPD has been able to do."
"For carjackings, the difference between this 20-day period of this federal surge and last year represents… pic.twitter.com/Cu8rimE1M8
— Jason Cohen 🇺🇸 (@JasonJournoDC) August 27, 2025
The turnaround is especially notable given Bowser’s initial opposition to Trump’s declaration of a “public safety emergency” on August 11. She had denounced the federal intervention as an affront to local autonomy, even reviving calls for D.C. statehood. Yet the sharp decline in crime—and Bowser’s public acknowledgment—suggests a reassessment in light of results. “We know that when carjackings go down, when the use of guns goes down, when homicide or robbery go down, neighborhoods feel safer and are safer,” she said, calling the surge “important to us for that reason.”
Data backs up her words. The DC Police Union reported robberies fell 42 percent in the first two weeks of the initiative, while the crackdown has yielded more than 1,170 arrests, including eight gang members and 40 illegal aliens in a single night, according to a White House official. A Harvard CAPS/Harris poll shows 54 percent of voters support Trump’s crime emergency declaration and the National Guard deployment.
Bowser’s new tone underscores the political stakes. Trump had previously hinted he might seek to remove her if she could not rein in crime, warning: “Mayor Bowser better get her act straight or she won’t be mayor [for] very long because we’ll take it over with the federal government and run it like it’s supposed to be run,” noted the local NBC News affiliate.
Against this backdrop, local lawmakers are advancing the Addressing Crime Trends Now Act (ACT Now), a measure to expand prosecutorial and police powers. The combined effect of local reform and federal force suggests a rare alignment between the city and Trump’s administration, however uneasy the partnership.
Several liberal DC Council leaders attacked the mayor for acknoledging reality. “We should not, as the District of Columbia, be giving people the impression that this is a good thing, that we are OK with it, that it is helping the city. It is not doing any of those thing,” said At-Large Councilmember Robert White Jr., a Democrat, in a video posted on Twitter. “I am not OK with this. The average resident is not OK with this. D.C. residents, D.C. voters, are not OK with this.”
Ward 1 Councilmember Brianne Nadeau, another Democrat, echoed White’s sentiment, writing that D.C. is “under siege.”
“Our residents are afraid, hesitant to go out & to work, angry that our limited autonomy is being eroded. There is nothing welcome about this,” Nadeau said.
For residents weary of violent crime, the results may matter more than the politics. Safer streets, Bowser conceded, are something even her fiercest critics will find hard to ignore.
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