The Justice Department (DOJ) on Wednesday slammed the Washington, D.C., City Council over councillors’ requests to remove the National Guard from the city’s streets.
Members of the D.C. City Council sent letters to governors in 10 states asking them to withdraw their National Guard members from the city early last month. One letter to Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D), obtained by 7News DC, asked her to recall the troops with the 250th anniversary festivities at an end.
Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald accused the City Council members of feigning ignorance “of the historic public safety strides” in the capital in his own letter to councillors.
“Let me be clear, your council has no power to demand that governors remove their brave men and women from serving in uniform in our nation’s capital,” McDonald wrote. “Your politically-movtivated letter is impotent theatrics not worth the paper it’s written on and D.C. is a much safer place no matter what you say.
McDonald went on to claim that crime in the city was likely “undercounted” and claimed the murder rate went down after the National Guard was deployed in August 2025. He added that the dropping crime rate aligned with the “complete rehabilitation and beautification of the city’s history, monuments and public spaces, and a total revitalization of the capital’s commercial and downtown regions.”
“You should withdraw your letters and dedicate your remaining time in public service to correcting D.C.’s laws to ensure criminals are punished and the public is protected –– not the other way around,” McDonald concludes his letter. “My office is available to assist you in this regard.”
The Hill has reached out to the D.C. City Council for comment.
McDonald’s letter was sent to council members the same day that FBI Director Kash Patel touted several statistics about safety in the city, saying that there have been “6,121 arrests, nearly 2,000 drug seizures, 1,300+ illegal firearms seized, 237 search warrants executed, $252,000+ in cash recovered, HOMICIDES DOWN 44 percent” in a post on the social platform X.
“One year into the President’s initiative, the numbers speak for themselves,” Patel wrote.
Tuesday marked one year since President Trump deployed the National Guard in Washington. He lashed out at the liberal think tank, the Center for American Progress, on Monday after it released a report showing that the city’s violent crimes were already on the decline before the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Crime is way down since I took Office, and they know it,” the president wrote on Truth Social, saying he will file a lawsuit against the Center for American Progress. “Liars, at this level, must be held accountable!”
The report’s author, Chandler Hall, on Monday said on C-SPAN that it was “unfortunate” that Trump “is continuing to still choose to boast” that the deployments are bringing results when it comes to public safety.
Hall’s report concluded that the deployment cost $1.7 billion. Last week, the Washington Post reported that the deployment is projected to cost another $1.4 billion through the end of Trump’s term in 2029.
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