What is the DC Home Rule Act that Trump used to ‘take control’ of Washington, D.C.?

President Donald Trump’s unprecedented decision to place the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police Department under direct federal control has put the spotlight on a 50-year-old law governing the relationship between the federal government and the District: the District of Columbia Home Rule Act.

Enacted on December 24, 1973, the Home Rule Act was the result of decades of advocacy by Washington, D.C. residents seeking a greater say in local affairs. For most of its history prior to that time, the nation’s capital was governed directly by Congress. The act established an elected mayor, a 13-member District of Columbia Council, and neighborhood advisory commissions, which was a major step toward self-government.

Although the act was a major advance for Washington, D.C.’s self-government, it left significant federal controls in place. Congress can block any local legislation and controls the city’s budget, while the president appoints its judges. The law also prohibits the District of Columbia Council from legislating on issues such as nonresident taxes, changing building height limits, changing judicial structures, granting public credit for private projects, or assuming authority over certain federal facilities.

Section 740: Federal control of the police

Although most of the Local Autonomy Act concerns legislative and budgetary authority, section 740 contains an extraordinary provision; it allows the president to temporarily take control of the Metropolitan Police Department for “federal reasons” when “special emergency conditions” exist.

Under Section 740(a), once the president makes that decision, the mayor of Washington, D.C. must provide the police services that the president deems “necessary and appropriate.” This authority is limited in duration:

• Initially, federal control cannot last more than 48 hours without written notification to the leaders of key congressional committees.
• The period of total control cannot exceed 30 days, unless both the House of Representatives and the Senate pass a joint resolution authorizing an extension
• Control ends automatically when the emergency ends, the 30-day period expires, or Congress votes to terminate it

Trump’s invocation of Section 740

On August 11, 2025, Trump became the first president to invoke Section 740 in the history of the law. In a speech at the White House, he declared “Liberation Day in Washington, D.C.” and described the city as plagued by “crime, bloodshed, bedlam, and squalor.” He ordered the police to come under the command of Attorney General Pam Bondi and announced the deployment of 800 National Guard troops.

Mayor Muriel Bowser acknowledged that the city must comply with the law, but called the measure “unsettling and unprecedented” and renewed her call for Washington, D.C., to become a state. For her part, Police Chief Pamela Smith pledged to cooperate with federal partners.

Several reports highlighted that Trump’s grim depiction of crime in the District of Columbia clearly contradicted city data, which shows that violent crime is at its lowest level in 30 years and that homicides have declined by 26% in 2025. Supporters, including House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senator Josh Hawley, applauded the move as necessary for public safety.

Federal power versus statehood

Although the law expanded local governance, it was designed to preserve federal power over the capital. The policing provision of Section 740 exists precisely because of the city’s unique status as the seat of the federal government.

Historically, federal authorities have relied on other mechanisms, such as mobilizing the Washington, D.C., National Guard to respond to emergencies in the city. But Section 740 offers presidents a direct, short-term avenue to use local police for federal purposes, bypassing local decision-making.

Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, the District’s non-voting representative in the House of Representatives, called Trump’s move an “egregious attack” and again pushed her long-standing statehood bill, which would give Washington, D.C., full control over its police, budget, and laws. Unless Congress acts, Trump’s control over the D.C. police will end in mid-September.

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