Washington, D.C., recorded a homicide rate of 27.54 per 100,000 residents in 2024, ranking fourth among major U.S. cities despite overall violent crime dropping 35% from 2023.

President Donald Trump announced on Monday that he’s taking over the police department in Washington, D.C. and is deploying the National Guard into the city. Trump cited the Home Rule Act in his announcement and declared “that special conditions of an emergency nature exist,

The Home Rule Act makes it possible for the use of federal troops to save D.C. It remains to be seen whether and how the Posse Comitatus laws can be managed to rescue other cities.