President Donald Trump has ordered roughly 800 National Guard troops into Washington, D.C., marking a rare federal takeover of the city’s policing under Section 740 of the D.C. Home Rule Act. The move, which allows the federal government to control the Metropolitan Police Department for up to 30 days, is being justified by Trump as a necessary response to what he calls “out of control” crime. Local officials, including Mayor Muriel Bowser, strongly oppose the deployment, calling it an authoritarian overreach, especially as recent data shows violent crime is at historic lows. Supporters, such as the D.C. Police Union, see it as a temporary but critical measure to bolster public safety, while critics argue it is more political theater than a practical crime-fighting step.