President Donald Trump’s attempt to take over law enforcement in Washington, D.C., is once again testing the bounds of his authority to militarize a major U.S. city.
The capital, unlike other cities, is already subject to significant federal control — and Trump is invoking his emergency powers to solidify it. But the intersection of complicated laws and rules about the use of the military for domestic law enforcement, the deployment of federal agents to the streets of D.C. and the city’s own crime-fighting policies may still prompt legal uncertainty — and inevitable challenges.
Here’s what Trump can — and cannot — do:
Trump said he’s taking control of the D.C. police. Can he do that?
Yes, with limits. The Home Rule Act gives him the power to use the D.C. police force for “federal purposes” if he determines that there are “special conditions of an emergency nature.”
He can use the D.C. police for up to 48 hours, or for up to 30 days if he sends a special message to the leaders of certain congressional committees.
To use the D.C. police for longer than 30 days, he would need authorization from Congress.
In an order Monday, Trump said the D.C. police force under his control would protect federal buildings and national monuments, typically a function of federal law enforcement agencies.
Trump also said he’s deploying National Guard troops to D.C. Can he do that?
Yes. Trump has more authority over the D.C. National Guard than he has over the guards of the 50 states. Governors control the state guards (although the president can federalize the state guards in an emergency or for use in combat operations). The District of Columbia, of course, has no governor, and the D.C. guard is not controlled by the mayor. Rather, the D.C. guard is always under the direct control of the president.
Aren’t there limits on using the military for domestic law enforcement?
Yes, but those limits might not apply to the D.C. National Guard.
A federal law passed in 1878, the Posse Comitatus Act, bars the use of the U.S. military for civilian law enforcement except when authorized by the Constitution or another provision of federal law.
The Trump administration is currently on trial in Los Angeles over its deployment of the California guard in June to quell immigration-related protests in that city. That trial will test whether a federal judge believes Trump’s deployment ran afoul of that 1878 law and must be rescinded.
But the legality of…
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