LANSING — President Donald Trump’s announced federal takeover of the Washington, D.C., police — while threatening similar actions in Chicago and Los Angeles — has prompted concerns about whether Detroit could also be in his crosshairs.
“What’s next?” asked state Rep. Tyrone Carter, D-Detroit, a former lieutenant with the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office, who is minority vice-chair of the House Judiciary Committee.
“Is it because D.C. is a majority Black city? Everything he does is suspicious to me.”
Black residents no longer are the majority in Washington, D.C., but they remain the largest racial group, making up 43% of the city’s population, which is 39% white, according to the research group Neilsberg.
Trump announced on Monday, Aug. 11 that he was placing the Metropolitan Police Department in the nation’s capital under the control of U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and deploying 800 National Guard troops there, as well as other federal agents, to fight crime and get homeless people off the streets.
Washington, D.C., is a federal district with different rules of governance from other large U.S. cities. In making the moves, Trump invoked a law specific to Washington, D.C., — the District of Columbia Home Rule Act.
But he also threatened other large cities run by Democrats.
“If we need to, we’re going to do the same thing in Chicago, which is a disaster,” Trump said at a news conference. Also, “hopefully, L.A. is watching,” Trump said.
Trump did not mention Detroit, but he has taken aim at Detroit in past public comments, saying during a 2024 campaign appearance at the Detroit Economic Club that if then Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, won the election, the whole country would become like Detroit.
At a 2016 Michigan campaign event, he called Detroit the most violent city in the nation and urged the city’s residents to vote for him.
“You live in poverty,” he said at a speech in Dimondale, near Lansing. “Your schools are no good. You have no jobs. What the hell do you have to lose?”
U.S. Rep. Lisa McClain, R-Bruce Township, who is chair of the House Republican Conference, applauded the Washington, D.C., move.
“Our nation’s capital should be the safest place on earth, but Democrats have turned it into a violent nightmare,” McClain posted on X. “@POTUS is restoring law and order to our great nation!”
Trump’s announcement came after the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia in January announced a 35% decrease in violent crime in 2024, after homicides there hit a 30-year high in 2023.
Violent crime was also down in Detroit in 2024, with the number of homicides dropping to the fewest since 1965.
John Roach, a spokesman for Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, said the city has seen significant reductions in homicides, shootings, and partnerships between the Detroit Police Department and federal agencies have played a major role in that success.
“This partnership is simple and effective,” Roach said in an email. “DPD does the policing and the feds have strongly increased support for federal prosecution. We appreciate the partnership we have today and are aware of no reason either side would want to change it.”
State Rep. Sarah Lightner, R-Springport, chair of the House Judiciary Committee, said she too supports Trump’s actions in D.C.
Lightner said in a text message that concerns about the federal government taking a greater role in Michigan are legitimate, “especially if prosecutors don’t get serious about actually punishing people for their crimes.”
Carter said in a phone interview that, leaving aside the question of whether any such action would be lawful, Detroiters have reason to be concerned about Trump targeting their city in the future, saying the president could use the immigration issue as a pretext to expand federal powers in the city.
“It’s going to take some Republicans with some backbone to stand up and say, ‘Enough,’ to these federal overreaches,” Carter said.
State Sen. Stephanie Chang, D-Detroit, chair of the Committee on Civil Rights, Judiciary, and Public Safety, described Trump’s Washington, D.C., announcement as ridiculous.
“The idea of federal intervention in our cities is not appropriate,” Chang said in a phone interview. “This is not what people want.”
Chang said she hoped Trump would not attempt any similar actions in Detroit and questioned whether such actions would be legal.
“We can take care of our own problems,” she said.
This story has been updated to add new information.
Free Press staff writer Dana Afana contributed to this report.
Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Trump’s takeover of Washington, D.C. police stirs concern in Detroit: ‘What’s next?’
Reporting by Paul Egan, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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