Congress took over DC in the 90s — And it worked

President Donald Trump’s proposal to federalize Washington, D.C., over rampant crime has been labeled authoritarian, but the federal government asserted control over the district decades ago to considerable success.

When D.C. was in a state of crisis in the 1990s, Congress passed two laws that federalized parts of D.C.’s criminal justice system and created the independent office of the chief financial officer (CFO). Violent crime proceeded to decline locally for the next several years, and the first mayor-appointed CFO, Anthony Williams, balanced D.C’s cratering budget. Williams later won two terms as Democratic mayor of D.C. in a political career credited with dramatically improving quality of life in the nation’s capital, according to The Washington Post.

High-profile crimes in recent years have brought back attention to D.C.’s governance, with notable incidents including a congressman getting carjacked in 2023, violent protests involving widespread vandalism of monuments in 2024, the murder of two Israeli Embassy staffers in May and the fatal shooting of a Capitol Hill intern in July. Democratic D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb has also drawn criticism for pursuing alternatives to incarceration in the name of reform, claiming in February 2024 that “we cannot prosecute and arrest our way out of” the crime problem.

The Constitution grants Congress authority over D.C.’s local laws and governance. Conservatives have called for more federal action against D.C.’s problems and renewed the idea on Tuesday after a former Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) staffer was allegedly beaten and bloodied by a mob for trying to protect a woman from a carjacking. The Trump administration made plans to increase federal law enforcement’s presence in Washington on Thursday and Friday following the assault, CNN reported.

“If this continues, I am going to exert my powers, and federalize this City,” Trump wrote in a Tuesday post to Truth Social.

A few days ago, a gang of about a dozen young men tried to assault a woman in her car at night in DC.

A @Doge team member saw what was happening, ran to defend her and was severely beaten to the point of concussion, but he saved her.

It is time to federalize DC. pic.twitter.com/RPHKj7J3ti

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 5, 2025

Critics such as Democratic Washington, D.C., House delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton call Trump’s proposal “anti-democratic” and “based on misinformation.” Media outlets were also quick to respond to his Tuesday remarks by reporting that violent crime in D.C. is down by 35% in 2025, but official data present a more mixed picture.

Homicides have stayed above pre-pandemic levels in the years since 2020, and juvenile crime has risen each year since the pandemic, according to police. More than half of those arrested for carjackings in D.C. since 2023 were minors, most of whom were 15 and 16 years old, The New York Post reported.

A White House official told the Daily Caller News Foundation that Trump expects Washington to be “a reflection of our country,” and that the president does not feel the city currently lives up to those standards.

“He knows that the Constitution vests this authority in Congress to ultimately have the authority over Washington, D.C., and if local officials are not doing their job and using resources correctly to bring down crime … the president is keeping all options on the table, and rightfully so,” the White House official said.

Past use of the District of Columbia Financial Responsibility and Management Assistance Act of 1995 and the Revitalization Act of 1997 offer some precedent for federal intervention that put D.C. on the road to better governance.

Prior to the laws’ passage and Williams’ installment as CFO of the city, Washington was under the leadership of former Mayor Marion Barry, who was arrested by the FBI in his official capacity on drug charges involving crack cocaine in 1990 and sentenced to six months in prison the following year. Barry was later elected to a fourth term in 1994.

A budget deficit D.C. faced in 1994 grew to $722 million in 1995, the year Williams stepped in as CFO and began exercising control over the city’s finances. Williams brought a budget surplus within two years as CFO, according to Harvard Kennedy School. D.C. continued to see surpluses and booming population numbers years after Williams’s time as CFO and mayor, The Washington Post reported.

Clinton’s Revitalization Act also allowed the federal government to “overtake various financial and managerial obligations including the D.C. courts, the prison system and the custody of incarcerated persons, and all pension liability accumulated through 1997,” according to the D.C. Policy Center.

Democratic D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has responded to Trump’s criticism of local leadership by advocating for the district to become America’s 51st state. Bowser’s office declined to comment to the DCNF.

Since returning to office, Trump has increased federal involvement in public safety in D.C. through measures such as directing the Department of the Interior to clear out homeless encampments in the city.

“There have been efforts to work with local officials to … mix federal and local enforcement to bring down crime, but at the end of the day, like, the president is keeping all options on the table and leveraging his power to ensure that local officials are following through on this idea to make D.C. safe and beautiful again,” the White House official told the DCNF.

Republican lawmakers and former President Joe Biden asserted dominance over D.C.’s affairs in 2023 by blocking a D.C. bill that they considered soft-on-crime, but it was not enough to alleviate concerns about the state of D.C.

“President Trump is right: it’s long past time to rein in crime and restore law and order in Washington, D.C.,” House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer of Kentucky told the DCNF. “While the House Oversight Committee’s ongoing oversight efforts have produced real results, the D.C. Council’s radical, soft-on-crime agenda continues to embolden criminals and threaten public safety in our nation’s capital.”

“The Committee is actively preparing legislative solutions to protect Americans in their capital city and plans to hold a hearing with the District Attorney General Brian Schwalb, Mayor Muriel Bowser, and other local officials this September,” Comer said. “The Committee looks forward to continuing to fulfill our constitutional responsibility to conduct oversight and will work alongside the Trump Administration to ensure a safe and prosperous Washington.”

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