Washington DC’s mayor, Muriel Bowser, appeared to bow to Donald Trump’s military occupation of the nation’s capital on Tuesday, signing an executive order that formalizes cooperation with federal forces even as residents push back against the city’s takeover.
The Tuesday order establishes the “Safe and Beautiful Emergency Operations Center” – borrowing from Trump’s own branding – to institutionalize collaboration between city officials and various federal agencies including the FBI.
On Wednesday, Bowser pushed back against accusations that she’s willing to continue Trump’s federal takeover.
“I want the message to be clear to the Congress, we have a framework to request or use federal resources in our city,” Bowser told reporters during a press conference. “We don’t need a presidential emergency.”
The comments come as Trump’s 30-day takeover is set to expire on 10 September.
“Let me tell you, without equivocation, that the mayor’s order does not extend the Trump emergency,” she added. “In fact, it does the exact opposite. What it does is lays out a framework for how we will exit the emergency. The emergency ends on September 10.”
The Pentagon previously said the national guard troops deployed to Washington will remain “until law and order is restored”. The more than 2,000 troops could stay through December to continue service member benefits, according to a senior official who spoke to CNN on condition of anonymity, although the mission may not last until then.
Bowser’s executive order mandates that federal officers adhere to transparent policing practices, requiring them to avoid wearing masks, display clear agency identification, and provide proper identification during arrests and public encounters.
But DC residents have criticized Bowser for opting for collaboration with the federal government over resistance. Polling from late August shows only 17-20% of residents support the federalized policing or armed national guard presence. Troops have been visibly patrolling tourist areas, metro stations and transit hubs rather than high-crime neighborhoods, and some unarmed troops have been assigned beautification tasks such as trash collection rather than crime-fighting duties.
In a statement on Wednesday, Todd A Cox, the Legal Defense Fund associate director counsel, called Bowser’s decision “alarming, misguided, and profoundly disappointing”.
“An increased presence of armed federal law enforcement officers in the District will not make our communities safer,” he said. “Safety for DC residents must include protection from police violence, yet the mayor’s decision subjects DC residents to an increased risk of it. Evidence has shown that this tactic is not only ineffective but actively harmful, disproportionately targeting Black communities, escalating tensions and undermining public safety.”
Washington residents have organized a resistance to fill the void left by the muted local government response. Free DC, a grassroots coalition that has campaigned for home rule since the 1990s, has soared as a central organizing force – staging nightly “noise protests” with pots and pans at curfew and launching an “Adopt a Curfew Zone” program to protect the most heavily patrolled neighborhoods from what they describe as federal occupation meant to strip the district of its autonomy. The organization gained tens of thousands of new followers on Instagram over the last few weeks.
Grand juries – composed of DC residents – have also refused to indict defendants in at least six cases, nullifying federal prosecutions through community defiance, including the case of the now-infamous “sandwich guy” who threw his Subway snack at an officer and was later tracked down and arrested. Residents in neglected neighborhoods such as Congress Heights have also condemned the military deployment’s focus on protecting tourists while ignoring their communities, instead pushing for local investment.
A federal judge this week ruled that Trump’s similar national guard deployment to Los Angeles violated the Posse Comitatus Act, which restricts military involvement in civilian law enforcement, potentially undermining the legal foundation for the DC operation.
Trump has so far claimed substantial results from the operation, posting on Truth Social that “Carjacking in DC is down 87%” and that “ALL other categories of crime are likewise down massively” along with 1,599 arrests and 165 illegal weapons seized as of 1 September, according to the attorney general, Pam Bondi. On Tuesday he called DC a model for other states and in an Oval Office meeting said he would be “honored” to take a call from the Illinois governor, JB Pritzker, to send national guard troops to his state.
“I would love to have Governor Pritzker call me,” Trump said. “I’d gain respect for him and say we do have a problem, and we’d love to send in the troops because, you know what, the people they have to be protected.”
