President Donald Trump needs Congress to keep control of Washington, D.C., police, experts say

After declaring a public safety emergency Aug. 11 in Washington, D.C., President Donald Trump suggested that declaring a national emergency would let him bypass the law’s limits.

Trump invoked section 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act to temporarily gain control of the district’s police force. He activated 800 members of the National Guard, alongside FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration agents, to patrol the nation’s capital following the beating of a former Department of Government Efficiency employee in an Aug. 3 attempted carjacking.

The Home Rule Act, signed in 1973 by President Richard Nixon, lets the president command the district’s police department for up to 30 days in an emergency. After that, Congress must pass a joint resolution to extend federalization of local police.

During an Aug. 13 press briefing, when asked about needing Congress’ approval to extend federal control of the district’s police, Trump said, "I don’t want to call a national emergency. If I have to, I will. But I think the Republicans in Congress will approve this pretty much unanimously."

Trump added, "Well if it’s a national emergency, we can do it without Congress."

But that’s not what the Home Rule Act specifies, experts say.

The Brennan Center for Justice catalogued 137 statutory provisions that become available to the president when he declares a national emergency. "None of those provisions authorizes the president to bypass the 30-day limit on requisitioning the services of the (Metropolitan Police Department)," Elizabeth Goitein, senior director of the Brennan Center’s Liberty and National Security Program, told PolitiFact.

Columbia Law School professor Richard Briffault told PolitiFact, "The statute's pretty clear that it's 30 days and out, unless Congress renews." The Home Rule Act doesn’t make exceptions in case of emergency, Briffault said. 

Former U.S. attorney for Virginia’s Western District John P. Fishwick agreed. "As I read the Home Rule Act, (Trump) has to get permission from Congress." 

When PolitiFact asked the White House what authority would enable Trump to extend his takeover of Washington, D.C. police without Congress’ approval, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson’s answer did not address that question.

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said Aug. 14 that Terry Cole, head of the Drug Enforcement Administration, will serve as the district’s "emergency police commissioner." Hours later, the district’s Attorney General Brian Schwalb sued the Trump Administration for overstepping executive powers, The Washington Post reported.

What happens after 30 days?

After 30 days, Congress may vote to extend the federalization through a joint resolution. (One exception to the time limit occurs if the president takes control when Congress is not in session, pausing the 30-day period, which doesn’t apply here.)

Congress also can vote to terminate Washington, D.C.’s  emergency. However, this is unlikely since Republicans control both chambers. 

Without congressional approval, the emergency takeover expires, and control returns to the district, Goitein said. 

A child watches as officers with the Drug Enforcement Administration patrol along the National Mall Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025, in Washington. (AP)

Can Trump declare a national emergency to bypass Congress on the police takeover? 

To declare a national emergency, there are procedural steps. 

"Namely, the president must immediately transmit the proclamation to Congress and publish it in the Federal Register, and he must identify any powers that he is invoking," Goitein said.

Once a national emergency has been declared, the president’s powers are limited to those already detailed under current federal law, Fishwick said. Declaring a national emergency doesn’t create new presidential powers. "But he can use those powers on an emergency basis without the approval of others," Fishwick said.

The National Emergency Act does not enable Trump to ignore the 30-day limitation of the Home Rule Act, Fishwick said. 

Briffault agreed the Home Rule Act statute is clear about its 30-day limit unless Congress takes action. "But (Trump) may be just saying, ‘I'm not going to use that law, I'm going to do something else.’"

Efforts to extend federal control in Washington, D.C.

If Trump moves to repeal home rule, the nation’s capital could come under permanent federal control, The New York Times reported. The last time that was the case was in 1874, during partisan disputes over voting rights for local Black and working-class white residents. 

In recent months, Trump has expressed support for putting Washington, D.C., under federal rule. But a repeal of home rule would not be popular with Washingtonians — Trump won less than 6.5% of the district’s vote in 2024. 

Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., introduced legislation Aug. 13 that would rewrite the Home Rule Act to let the president extend the 30-day limit without Congress. 

To become law, Senate rules require a 60-vote majority, and there are 53 Republicans in the Senate.

Rewriting an entire act is a lengthy process — longer than 30 days. Fishwick expects the GOP-majority Congress to pass a joint resolution.

"It’s very interesting times," Fishwick said. "We have a number of laws that have been on the books for a long time that have had very few lawsuits over them… And that's what we're dealing with in D.C. But this is where President Trump's power is the strongest, under this old law, the Home Rule Act."