FBI Director Kash Patel endorsed President Donald Trump's plans to take over the Metropolitan Police Department to tackle crime in Washington D.C., amid heavy criticism from Democrats and local officials who say the move is part of a power grab.
Patel was seen Monday afternoon inside a command post for the first night of the temporary takeover in a show of support for law enforcement.
"Proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with the men and women who keep our nation’s capital safe," Patel said in an exclusive statement to Fox News Digital. "When you let good cops be cops, give them the tools they need, and back them every step of the way, they deliver - every time."
In photos exclusively provided to Fox News Digital, Patel can be seen speaking Monday to FBI and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) personnel wearing protective vests at a command center at a U.S. Park Police station.
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On Monday, Trump said he would federalize the police department and place it under the authority of U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi in an effort to address crime. He also said he was activating approximately 800 National Guard troops to "reestablish law, order and public safety" in the capital.
Washington D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser called the move "unsettling and unprecedented."
"While this action today is unsettling and unprecedented, I can’t say that given some of the rhetoric of the past, that we’re totally surprised," Bowser said during a news conference. "I can say to D.C. residents that we will continue to operate our government in a way that makes you proud."
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The District of Columbia Home Rule Act allows Trump to place the city's police department under federal control for up to 30 days. Bowser noted that granting D.C. statehood, an issue local officials have repeatedly advocated for, could have prevented the takeover.
"If people are concerned about the president being able to move the National Guard into our city, the time to do that would have been when the Congress had a bill that it could have given control of the D.C. National Guard to D.C.," she said. "So there are things that, when a city is not a state, and not fully autonomous, and doesn’t have senators, that the federal government can do."
Other Democrats heavily criticized the Trump administration for the move.
"If President Trump wants to help make Chicago safer, he can start by releasing the funds for anti-violence programs that have been critical to our work to drive down crime and violence," the office of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said. "Sending in the national guard would only serve to destabilize our city and undermine our public safety efforts."
The Washington, D.C. City Council called the temporary takeover a "manufactured intrusion on local authority."
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"Violent crime in the District is at the lowest rates we’ve seen in 30 years. Federalizing the Metropolitan Police Department is unwarranted because there is no Federal emergency," the council said in a joint statement. "Further, the National Guard has no public safety training or knowledge of local laws. The Guard’s role does not include investigating or solving crimes in the District. Calling out the National Guard is an unnecessary deployment with no real mission."
The National Capital Region Delegation, a body comprised of several House Democratic lawmakers, accused Trump of personally inciting crime in the capital, referring to the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol building.
"Trump’s ‘temporary’ takeover of the Metropolitan Police Department is not intended to prevent crime, it is a soft launch of authoritarianism," the group said in a statement. "Trump has a longstanding pattern of seeking showy displays of power. As he has shown repeatedly, Trump is working to serve himself and is not concerned with keeping American families safe in cities and towns across our country."
"The President’s announcement this morning is an unserious and unacceptable publicity stunt," they added. "If he wants to reduce crime in the District of Columbia, he should focus on getting his Republican allies in Congress to restore the funding they arbitrarily stripped out of the city’s budget, which risks cuts to law enforcement and other public safety measures."
Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers union, called Trump's announcement a "gross overreach, disconnected from actual conditions on the ground."
"So, we have to ask: Will the president’s heavy-handed show of force make the average D.C. resident feel safer? Will it create jobs for working people and bring patrons back to downtown businesses?" she said. "Will it provide young people a pathway to jobs, skills or other activities that keep them off the streets?"
"The answer to those questions is ‘no,’ she added. "That’s why this move is yet another crass spectacle from a president who cares more about targeting, intimidating and playing king than the safety of D.C. and its residents."
Trump's opponents have cited crime statistics showing crime in Washington is on the decline. Crime in Washington is down 26% this year compared to the same timeframe in 2024, according to the MPD. Assaults with a dangerous weapon are down 20%, and homicides are down by 12%, according to police data. In January, the Justice Department said violent crime in 2024 in the district was down 35% from 2023, the lowest it has been in over 30 years.
However, Trump disagrees.
Metropolitan Police Department data shows that while the homicide rate is falling, the last five years saw the greatest number of murders since 2008.
"The murder rate in Washington today is higher than that of Bogota, Colombia, Mexico City, some of the places that you hear about as being the worst places on Earth, much higher," Trump said Monday. "This is much higher. The number of car thefts has doubled over the past five years, and the number of carjackings has more than tripled. Murders in 2023 reached the highest rate, probably ever. They say 25 years, but they don't know what that means because it just goes back 25 years can't be worse."
Fox News Digital's Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report.