Donald Trump on Monday deployed military and federal law enforcement to curb violent crime in Washington, seeking to cement his claim to be a "law and order" president with a crackdown that he said could be expanded to other major US cities.

The Republican leader said he would place the capital's Metropolitan Police under federal government control while also sending the National Guard onto the streets of the US capital.

The overwhelmingly Democratic city faces allegations from Republican politicians that it is overrun by crime, plagued by homelessness and financially mismanaged -- although violent offenses are down.

"This is Liberation Day in DC, and we're going to take our capital back," the president told reporters at the White House.

Trump -- a convicted felon who granted blanket c

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