A look at Trump’s legal authority over DC as he threatens federal takeover

Geoff Bennett:

President Trump continues to direct his ire at cities run by Democrats for what he says is an out-of-control crime wave, despite FBI data showing crime down in every category.

The president this week went as far as threatening a federal takeover of the nation's capital after an administration staffer was attacked during an attempted carjacking.

William Brangham has more.

William Brangham:

That's right, Geoff.

On Tuesday, the president posted a photo of a bloodied 19-year-old Edward Coristine after he'd apparently been attacked by a large group. Two 15-year-olds are now in custody.

Yesterday, the president had this to say:

Donald Trump, President of the United States: What a shame, the rate of crime, the rate of muggings, killings and everything else. We're not going to let it — and that includes bringing in the National Guard maybe very quickly too. This has to be the best-run place in the country, not the worst-run place in the country. And it has so much potential, and we're going to take care of it.

William Brangham:

It's worth noting that, contrary to the president's claims, violent crime in Washington, D.C., last year hit a 30-year low.

But for more on this, I am joined by George Derek Musgrove. He's an associate professor at the University of Maryland and author of the book "Chocolate City: A History of Race and Democracy in the Nation's Capital."

Derek Musgrove, welcome to the "News Hour."

George Derek Musgrove, Associate Professor of History and Africana Studies, University of Maryland, Baltimore County: Thanks for having me.

William Brangham:

How seriously should we take this notion that the president has put forward that he's going to send the National Guard in to take over the police?

George Derek Musgrove:

I think quite seriously, for two reasons.

One is that the president has been quite consistent in this regard. I mean, this claim is actually in the GOP platform. And the president has repeated it over and over again, his first term and now in his second.

The other is that the president has a great deal of power under the Home Rule Act. He has control of the National Guard. He can send it in. He's actually able to take over the Metropolitan Police Department for a period of about 30 days. And so he's capable of doing what he's saying.

What he's not capable of doing is getting rid of home rule altogether. Congress passed the Home Rule Act. Congress has to repeal it if it is to be repealed.

William Brangham:

I know he has said he would like it to be repealed.

But for people who may not be following this that closely, D.C. does sit in this unusual limbo. It's not a state. It doesn't really have full autonomy. It has a mayor and a city council. But remind us again of the legal status of the city with regards to the federal government.

George Derek Musgrove:

Sure.

And under Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution, the district is overseen by Congress. Now, Congress can do roughly three things with that power. It can intervene to run the city directly. It can step back and let whatever governmental structure is already there persist. Or it can delegate the governance to another entity.

What it did in 1973 is, it delegated a significant portion of its power to a local government, a mayor and a 13-member council, as well as a couple of other offices. But it can take that power back. What it kept for itself is the ability to oversee our laws. And so, every time we pass laws, we have to send them up to Congress to be reviewed.

It can meddle in our budget. And so our budget goes through Congress and they can place riders on it to change things that we have done to direct us in ways that we would spend our own money. So it still has a lot of power as well. And in the end, it can take all of that stuff back if it so chooses.

William Brangham:

Have we ever seen the federal government exert that kind of full control over the city?

George Derek Musgrove:

Yes, but not in the recent past.

So, back in 1874, Congress stripped the city entirely of local governance. The city had a mayor and a council, even a non-voting delegate back in the early 19th century. And in a reaction against Reconstruction after the Civil War, members of Congress, lined up with the elites in Washington, D.C., said, if we're going to have African Americans, even working-class white people voting, we'd actually prefer to have no democracy at all in the nation's capital.

And so they ended democracy in the nation's capital. You couldn't vote for anything for 100 years from 1874 roughly to 1875.

William Brangham:

The mayor, the current mayor, and the city council are in obviously this very tight spot. They don't want to irritate the president, but they also want to hold on to what little autonomy they do have.

How have they been responding to all of this?

George Derek Musgrove:

In a very measured manner, I think, is the best way to put it. They have tried to stay quiet. They have tried to find places where their concerns and those of the president match up.

And knowing that they have very little leverage in this situation, they have just tried to make sure that the president is not angered by the things that they do.

William Brangham:

As a scholar of this city and its odd relationship with the federal government, do you think that, if the president did roll the National Guard into the city, that the city — how would that unfold? How would the city react?

George Derek Musgrove:

Well, we actually saw this with the protests in 2020, and the president did dispatch the military down to Lafayette Square to deal with protesters. And folks were quite angered by it.

D.C. residents are very sensitive to their democratic rights, because they're already circumscribed. We have a local government, but we don't have voting representation in the House of Representatives or the Senate. And we know that. And we're very keenly aware of that.

So when you begin to erode the small amount of rights that D.C. residents do have, folks tend to be very edgy about that. And I think they would be again.

William Brangham:

Derek Musgrove, University of Maryland, thank you so much for being here.

George Derek Musgrove:

Thank you for having me.