WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Monday that he’s taking over Washington’s police department and deploying 800 members of the National Guard across the city in the hopes of reducing crime, even as city officials stressed that crime is already falling in the nation’s capital.

The president, flanked by his attorney general, his defense secretary and the FBI director, said he was formally declaring a public safety emergency and his administration would be removing homeless encampments.

“We’re going to take our capital back,” Trump declared, adding he would also be “getting rid of the slums.”

For Trump, the effort to take over public safety in Washington reflects an escalation of his aggressive approach to law enforcement. The District of Columbia’s status as a congressionally estab

See Full Page