Live updates: Trump to deploy National Guard and federalize D.C. police as part of crime-fighting effort

The Trump administration agreed to once again delay the deadline when tariffs on Chinese imports would rise as discussions between the two sides continue.

The new deadline would be Nov. 10.

“All other elements of the Agreement will remain the same,” Trump said tonight on Truth Social.

For companies and consumers, another pause means continued uncertainty as Trump’s sweeping tariff regime enters its fifth month.

Read the full story here.

Trump announced tonight that he planned to nominate conservative economist E.J. Antoni as the new commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Trump said in a Truth Social post that “E.J. will ensure that the Numbers released are HONEST and ACCURATE.”

Antoni’s planned nomination comes after Trump fired former commissioner Erika McEntarfer hours after a weaker-than-expected jobs report on Aug. 1. Trump said, without evidence, that the jobs report for July was “RIGGED in order to make the Republicans, and ME, look bad.”

Antoni did not immediately respond to NBC News’ request for comment. As chief economist at the conservative Heritage Foundation, Antoni has written a number of pieces for the think tank that are highly complimentary of the Trump administration.

Read the full story here.

A senior law enforcement official told NBC News that the White House authorized as many as 120 FBI agents, mostly from the bureau's Washington Field Office, to work various shifts on the D.C. streets with the Metropolitan Police Department and other federal agencies this past weekend as part of the initial stages of the federal takeover of the police in Washington, D.C.

The Washington Post first reported the number of FBI agents.

Now that the takeover has been announced, the number of agents is expected to rise throughout the next 30 days.

The staffing is being determined by the field office leadership, based on orders from the White House. It’s a mix of agents who have volunteered for the assignment and agents who were just told to report for duty.

Rep. Doug LaMalfa, R-Calif., held a town hall this morning in Chico, California, where he was met by a rowdy crowd that repeatedly interrupted him and grilled him on the effects of Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill.

Attendees pressed LaMalfa on Medicaid cuts from Trump's bill, the impact of DOGE cuts and executive overreach.

"I’m concerned that the Republican Congress is no longer doing their job of overseeing the abuse of the executive branch. The president is not working for the American people," one attendee said.

Others criticized Trump's pardoning of Jan. 6 rioters. When LaMalfa argued that "there were not criminals involved" in the 2021 attack on the Capitol, he was met by boos.

A federal defendant filed a motion today to dismiss their indictment, challenging the status of Alina Habba as U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey.

Cesar Humberto Pina, who is known as “Flipping NJ” and was charged last month with investment fraud, conspiracy to launder drug proceeds, and bribing a politician, argued that Habba is “currently without any legal authority to perform the functions and duties of U.S. Attorney.”

The court filing says the case should be dismissed “based on the unlawful appointment and continued occupancy of the office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey by Alina Habba.”

The filing from attorneys Gerald Krovatin, Norman Eisen and Abbe Lowell argues that because Attorney General Pam Bondi “appointed Ms. Habba to serve as special attorney and simultaneously designated her as First Assistant in the Office with the purported authority to serve as Acting U.S. Attorney, it is unclear what legal authority she is now claiming to operate under.”

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee received notification of Trump's plans to use the Metropolitan Police Department for federal purposes, according to an image of the letter the Republican-led panel posted on X this afternoon.

“As President of the United States, I have the obligation to ensure the safety and security of all Americans,” Trump wrote in his letter to Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky.

“I have determined that special conditions of an emergency nature exist that require the use of the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia (Metropolitan Police force) for Federal purposes, including maintaining law and order in the Nation’s seat of Government; protecting Federal buildings, national monuments and other Federal property; and ensuring conditions necessary for the orderly functioning of Federal Government.”

The D.C. Council issued a statement blasting Trump's moves as "unwarranted" and "a manufactured intrusion on local authority."

"Violent crime in the District is at the lowest rates we’ve seen in 30 years," the statement said.

"Federalizing the Metropolitan Police Department is unwarranted because there is no Federal emergency. 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," added the council, the chief policy making authority for the district.

"Taking over our police department and deploying hundreds of National Guard members is not the hard work of public safety — it is a show of force without impact," the council said.

Trump said on Truth Social this afternoon that he had "a very interesting" meeting with Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan, days after saying the executive must resign immediately.

After meeting with him, though, Trump appeared to change his tune. The president said on social media that his "success and rise is an amazing story. Mr. Tan and my Cabinet members are going to spend time together, and bring suggestions to me during the next week." It was unclear what kind of suggestions Trump wanted.

Last week, the president posted that Tan was "highly conflicted" without giving a reason, but it appeared Trump was referring to a recent letter to Intel from Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., which asked a series of questions about Tan's past work for other chipmakers and a report that Tan held shares of Chinese tech companies.

Trump's comments and interaction with Tan comes as the president is trying to revitalize semiconductor manufacturing in the U.S.

Mayor Bowser dodged a question at her afternoon press conference about Trump's suggestion earlier that D.C. police will be able to act more aggressively toward suspects.

"Our police officers are highly professional, well-trained officers that we support with training throughout their careers," Bowser said. "We’re proud of where our department has come from in terms of their level of professionalism, so they’re trained in constitutional policing, and that is our expectation."

When asked if she is planning any kind of defiance, symbolic or otherwise, Bowser referred the reporter to the law.

“Well, I would refer you to the law. Home Rule Charter … I would refer you to the executive order,” Bowser said. “Everything that we have said maintains my authority given by the Home Rule charter.”

The D.C. mayor had said moments earlier that her “tenor” would be appropriate for her goal of taking care of Washington’s citizens, dodging questions on whether she would change her approach to Trump thus far.

“If people are concerned about a president’s ability to have the MPD Police Department be responsive to the Department of Justice, the time to address that is when we’re talking about statehood for D.C. 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.,” Bowser said.

“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,” she concluded.

Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, said he plans to introduce a bill to undo Trump's move to federalize the Washington, D.C., police department, calling it “a textbook authoritarian maneuver” that “has nothing to do with fighting crime.”

“I will be introducing a Resolution in the House, pursuant to the District of Columbia Home Rule Act of 1973, to reverse this plainly ridiculous state of local emergency and restore full home rule powers to the Mayor, Council and people of the District of Columbia," he said in a statement.

Bowser and Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela Smith made clear this afternoon that the D.C. government will cooperate with the Trump administration.

Smith said that local law enforcement works closely with federal partners on a daily basis.

“Having our Metropolitan Police Department working alongside of our federal partners who have come into the city to really help us assess and deal with the crime," she said. "We will work alongside them, but intentionally, we want to make sure that our community understands that we are there. We’re going to be boots on the ground."

Asked if the city plans to cooperate with the Trump administration or block its actions, Bowser noted that D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb has said that they they’re reviewing their legal options. She also said that home rule says that in the case of a declared emergency, the president is authorized to make these types of requests and the mayor has to comply.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser defended the crime rate in D.C. and called Trump's actions to increase federal control of the city "unsettling and unprecedented."

Responding to criticism from the president, Bowser said that following a brief spike during the pandemic, the district is at a "30-year violent crime low."

She added, "We’re not satisfied. We haven’t taken our foot off the gas, and we continue to look for ways to make our city safer."

A senior law enforcement official says the federal takeover of the Metropolitan Police Department is a work in progress.

Earlier today, Trump said that he had appointed the administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Terry Cole, as the head of the Metropolitan Police Department. 

Cole will report to Attorney General Pam Bondi, but it is unclear as to whether Cole will bring in his own staff in terms of MPD leadership to then run the various divisions of the police department.

Demonstrators outside of the AFL-CIO headquarters rally against Trump's decision to federalize the D.C. police and deploy National Guard troops in the capital.

The Texas House of Representatives quickly gaveled in and out of session today still lacking the minimum number of lawmakers required to consider the GOP-backed redistricting legislation which could give Republicans five more seats in Congress.

Ninety-six House members appeared in the chamber Monday, four shy of the minimum required to move forward.

Speaker Dustin Burrows sought to continue to raise the pressure on Democrats by announcing the House planned to consider flood relief bills starting Tuesday, and updated the members on the state's efforts to compel the Democrats to return to the chamber.

He said that law enforcement officers have been dispatched across the state, "set up outside members' homes conducting surveillance," and that the "search continues and will not stop."

Trump said on Truth Social that his administration will not place a tariff on gold, clarifying the stance of the U.S. customs agency.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection released a ruling Friday that said gold bars and bullion, typically considered a form of currency, were subject to the administration's sweeping tariffs.

For some of the top gold production nations such as Switzerland, which is under a 39% tariff, the ruling came as a shock and rocked gold markets. Gold prices soared to record highs on the news Friday but later plummeted when the White House said a clarification was forthcoming.

Statement

“Crime is out of control in the District of Columbia. Washington, District of Columbia, is our Nation's capital and home to the central institutions of American governance. Yet rising violence in the capital now urgently endangers public servants, citizens, and tourists.”

Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin criticized Trump's decision to deploy the National Guard in D.C. as "playing political games."

Martin also contrasted Trump's announcement today with his handling of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by his supporters.

"Trump doesn’t give a damn about keeping D.C. residents safe," Martin said. "When rioters violently stormed the Capitol and there were repeated requests for the National Guard, Trump failed to act. To add insult to injury, he released from jail those 1,500 violent insurrectionists who assaulted police officers and broke local and federal law."

On his first day in office, Trump pardoned and commuted sentences of Jan. 6 defendants, including people who assaulted law enforcement officers.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention staffers are voicing frustration over Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s past vaccine comments, following Friday’s shooting at the agency’s headquarters in Atlanta that left one police officer dead.

Although the motive of the suspected shooter — Patrick White, 30, from Kennesaw, Georgia — remains unknown, he told a neighbor that he believed the Covid vaccines had made him sick, a source told NBC News on the condition of anonymity.

Kennedy is expected to visit CDC’s headquarters later Monday to speak with staff, according to a person familiar with the matter

Read the full story here.

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said in a post on X that Trump's actions in D.C. are meant to "distract from the issues he should be focused on," including the economy.

"When it comes to public safety in Baltimore, he should turn off the right-wing propaganda and look at the facts," Scott, a Democrat, said. "Baltimore is the safest it's been in over 50 years."

Homicides are down in the city by 28% in this year alone, lower than any year on record, he said.

"It's not just Baltimore," Scott continued, "Violent crime is at historic lows in cities across the country under the leadership of mayors who have brought together partners from law enforcement, the legal system, and communities to reduce violence. The president could learn a lot about leadership from them."

Trump singled out Baltimore, as well as New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, while referring to Democratic-run urban areas that he says suffer from high crime rates.

In a post on X after Trump’s news conference, D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb said that the administration's actions regarding crime in D.C. are "unprecedented, unnecessary, and unlawful."

"There is no crime emergency in the District of Columbia. Violent crime in DC reached historic 30-year lows last year, and is down another 26% so far this year," he wrote.

"We are considering all of our options and will do what is necessary to protect the rights and safety of District residents," he added.

During his news conference, Trump said he was frustrated by Zelenskyy pushing back against the possibility of a land swap with Russia as part of a deal to end the war in Ukraine.

"I was a little bothered by the fact that Zelenskyy was saying, 'I have to get constitutional approval.' I mean, he’s got approval to go into war and kill everybody, but he needs approval to do a land swap? Because there’ll be some land swapping going on," he said.

Trump said the situation is "very complex because you have lines that are very uneven. ... And there’ll be some swapping and changes in land."

Trump's news conference has ended after more than an hour.

Trump, while taking questions from reporters, said that Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang had agreed to give the U.S. government a 15% cut of its revenue from sales of the company's H20 artificial intelligence chip to customers in China in order to obtain an export license.

"So I said, listen, I want 20% if I’m going to approve this for you," Trump said of a recent meeting with Huang. The president said the Nvidia CEO responded, "Would you make it 15%?"

Trump said he was not yet allowing sales of the most advanced Nvidia chip, known commonly as the Blackwell chip, to Chinese customers, but it's possible that he could allow it in the future. Trump said he believed Huang would be visiting him again soon to discuss the Blackwell chip.

Trump said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wasn't invited to his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday.

"He wasn't a part of it," Trump said. "I would say he could go, but he's gone to a lot of meetings. You know, he's been there for three and a half years. Nothing happened."

He added, "We're going to have a meeting with Vladimir Putin, and at the end of that meeting, probably in the first two minutes, I'll know exactly whether or not a deal can be because that's what I do. I make deals."

Trump explained why he wants to "beautify" D.C., saying its current state leaves a bad impression for visitors from other nations.

"We're going to clean up our sidewalks. You have countries where every Saturday, the people go out and they wash their sidewalks in front of their stores and their houses," Trump said.

The president said that his father used to tell him. "Son, when you walk into a restaurant and you see a dirty front door, don't go in, because if the front door is dirty, the kitchen is dirty.' Also, same thing with the capital. If our capital is dirty, our whole country is dirty, and they'll respect us."

As Trump says he's federalizing the Washington, D.C., police department, it's worth noting that the government funding bill he signed into law in March included a provision that cut the city's budget by about $1 billion.

The funding bill capped Washington's budget at 2024 spending levels, preventing the city from using some of its own local tax dollars.

The Senate unanimously passed legislation to restore that money amid protests by local leaders and parents. Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins, R-Maine, said at the time that the bill had the support of both Trump and her House counterpart, Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., but it has yet to be brought up for a vote in the House.

Trump said he might impose his crime-fighting and "beautification" plans that he's implementing in D.C. in large Democratic-run cities.

"Other cities are hopefully watching this," he said. "Maybe they'll self-clean up, and maybe they'll self-do this and get rid of the cashless bail thing and all of the things that caused the problem."

"They're watching us today, and if they don't learn their lesson, if they haven't studied us properly, because we're going to be very successful. I have zero doubt about that," he continued. "If we need to, we're gonna do the same thing in Chicago, which is a disaster. We have a mayor there who's totally incompetent."

Trump said his administration is reviewing the possibility of reclassifying marijuana and will make its determination soon.

"We're only looking at that. That's early," he said about the process.

"We're looking at it. Some people like it. Some people hate it. Some people hate the whole concept of marijuana, because if it does bad for the children, it does bad for people that are older than children," he said. "But we're looking at reclassification, and we'll make a determination over the next, I would say, over the next few weeks, and that determination, hopefully, will be the right one ... Very complicated subject is, you know, the subject of marijuana."

Trump suggested he's going to replace D.C.-area judges because he said they're not holding criminals accountable.

"We're going to be appointing some judges," he said. "We have some open spots, and we're going to take people because the judges are letting killers out. They just say, 'Go. That's OK, don't worry about it.'"

Trump said that Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche has recommended several judges to him.

Trump said in announcing his crime-fighting plan that he will be invoking Section 740 of the 1973 District of Columbia Home Rule Act, which will federalize the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department.

The president is allowed to federalize the city police for 48 hours before he must notify Congress and for a total of 30 days before he must get approval from Congress.

When the president “determines that special conditions of an emergency nature exist,” he can place the D.C. police under federal control, the Home Rule Act said. 

But the president cannot do this for more than 48 hours without providing notification to the chairs and ranking members “of the Committees on the District of Columbia of the Senate and the House of Representatives,” the law says. Those panels are the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

Trump said his administration is going to be removing homeless encampments in D.C.

"We're going to be removing homeless encampments from all over our parks, our beautiful, beautiful parks, which now a lot of people can't walk on," Trump said, calling the public grounds "very dirty."

"We're moving the encampments away, trying to take care of people," he said. Trump didn't specify where the homeless people would go.

"Some of those people, we don't know how they even got there," Trump said. "Some of those people are from different countries, different parts of the world. Nobody knows who they are. They have no idea. But they're there, getting rid of the people from underpasses and public spaces from all over the city. There are many places that they can go, and we're going to help them as much as you can help, but they'll not be allowed to turn our capital into a wasteland for the world to see."

Trump said that the military would be brought into D.C. if necessary to carry out his orders to improve safety in the city.

"We will bring in the military if it's needed. By the way, we're going to have National Guard ... we will bring in the military if needed," he said.

Trump continued, "People say, 'Oh, that's so terrible. He's going to bring in.' It's been used many times over the years. I don't think we'll need it."

The president added that people in local law enforcement "with proper leadership" will "immediately begin massive enforcement operations targeting known gangs, drug dealers and criminal networks, to get them the hell off the street, maybe get them out of the country, because a lot of them came into our country illegally."

Trump said D.C. has become "unsafe," "dirty" and "disgusting" and is covered in graffiti.

"We’re also talking about beautification. We’re the most beautiful, potentially, capital in the world," he said.

"But people come from Iowa, they come from Indiana, they come and then they get mugged. Not going to happen. Keep coming, because ... by the time you get your trip set, it’s going to be safe again, and it’s going to be clean," he said.

Trump added: "Very quickly, we’re going to replace the medians that are falling down all over the roads. We’re going to replace the potholes. We’re going to put a nice new coat of asphalt over the top. No, we don’t have to rip the road out and spend seven years building a new road." 

Trump said at his press conference that he wants to change a statute on bail in D.C.

"The radical left City Council adopted no cash bail," he said about Washington, D.C. "By the way, every place in the country you have no cash bail — it's a disaster."

"Somebody murders somebody, and they're out on no cash bail before the day is out," Trump claimed.

"We're going to end that in Chicago," he continued. "We're going to change the statute. I spoke with Pam and Todd and everybody. We're going to change the statute, and I'm going to have to get the Republicans to vote, because the Democrats are weak on crime — totally weak on crime."

He added, "We're going to change no cash bail. We're going to change the statute and get rid of some of the other things, and we'll count on the Republicans in Congress and Senate to vote."

Flanked by top administration officials, Trump criticized crime in D.C. and compared crime statistics to other cities around the world.

He pointed to an alleged attack on Edward Coristine, an original Department of Government Efficiency staffer known online as “Big Balls,” in an attempted carjacking, and the killing of a congressional intern in a D.C. shooting, among other incidents.

Trump also said he would also get rid of “slums” in D.C.

Trump was surrounded by administration officials, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel.

Homicide counts in Washington, D.C., reached 274 in 2023. That’s the most since the mid-1990s, when counts regularly numbered more than 200, according to Metropolitan Police Department data.

Trump announced this morning that he will federalize the Washington, D.C., police and deploy National Guard troops in an effort to fight crime.

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

NBC News previously reported that Trump was considering deploying the guard. The moves mark a significant shift in the White House's relationship with the capital.

In recent days, the White House increased the law enforcement presence in the district. Trump has also renewed his criticism of D.C., pointing to crime and homelessness in the city.

Violent crime in D.C. is down 26% compared with last year, according to D.C. police data.

A federal judge today denied the Justice Department’s request to unseal grand jury materials in Ghislaine Maxwell’s criminal case.

In his 31-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer said that the grand jury materials do not identify anyone other than Epstein or Maxwell as having had sexual contact with a minor.

Read the full story here.

The deadline for higher tariffs to go into effect between China and the U.S. is just hours away, but the White House has not announced an extension.

The two sides paused steep tariffs on each other in mid-May for 90 days while trade talks continued. After their most recent meeting in late July, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that Trump was close to approving an extension.

If an extension is not approved by Trump, tariff rates on imports from China could sharply rise tomorrow from their current level of 10%. That could once again disrupt the availability and price of consumer goods such as appliances, building materials, some electronics and clothing.

Trump said in a post on Truth Social that D.C. would be "liberated today."

"Crime, Savagery, Filth, and Scum will DISAPPEAR. I will, MAKE OUR CAPITAL GREAT AGAIN!" he wrote.

The president pointed to his focus on security at the southern border, adding, "D.C. is next!!!"

Trump's post comes as he prepares to hold a news conference this morning about making D.C. "safer and more beautiful."

In a separate post minutes earlier, Trump proclaimed, "LIBERATION DAY IN D.C. WE ARE TAKING OUR CAPITAL BACK!!!"

Australia said today that it plans to recognize a Palestinian state, joining a growing list of Western governments making the move as Israel becomes increasingly isolated over the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said his government would recognize a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly in New York next month.

Read the full story here.

The White House is considering inviting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Alaska, where Trump is scheduled to meet with Vladimir Putin next week, according to a senior U.S. official and three people briefed on the internal discussions. NBC News’ Vaughn Hillyard reports.

Trump is considering deploying up to 1,000 National Guard troops to D.C. and could make the announcement as early as today, according to one defense official and two U.S. officials.

The number of Guard members who would be assigned is still in flux, the officials say, and most of the troops would likely be pulled from the D.C. National Guard.

Officials stress that the decision is not final and no orders have been signed. 

This is part of the president’s ongoing effort to increase security in the nation’s capital, but the Guard would be primarily focused on supporting law enforcement with things such as administrative help and protecting federal personnel and property, not engaged in direct law enforcement activities.

The White House increased the presence of federal law enforcement in Washington over the weekend, deploying 450 officers across all four quadrants of the city Saturday and yesterday in high-traffic areas, as Trump has ramped up threats of taking control of D.C. and its local police force.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement that Washington will be "safe and beautiful again for its residents, lawmakers, and visitors" under Trump's leadership.

“Everyone who lives in our Nation’s capital knows homelessness and crime are plaguing this city," Leavitt said. "You can thank President Trump for finally taking action to clean it up."

A White House official said the operation over the weekend included 18 agencies that form part of the Task Force’s Law Enforcement Working Group. The agencies included D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department, the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations and U.S. Capitol Police.

The official said the effort was undertaken in compliance with a March executive order that had established the “Making D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force.”

The official said multiple arrests and contacts were made, citing offenses from carrying a pistol without license to riding a dirt bike in a park.

Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser yesterday refuted Trump’s claims that crime in Washington is spiking, saying crime has decreased over the past two years.

In an interview with MSNBC, Bowser repudiated top Trump adviser Stephen Miller's claims that D.C. is “more violent than Baghdad.”

Miller made the comment to NewsNation reporter Kellie Meyer.

“Any comparison to a war-torn country is hyperbolic and false,” Bowser said.

Bowser said that though it is up to the president if he decides to call the National Guard to D.C., she expressed concern over the possibility.

“These are men and women who leave their families to serve our country, and that is just not their primary role to enforce local laws,” she said.

Ahead of a press conference on safety and cleanliness in Washington slated for this morning, Trump made a post on social media yesterday warning people experiencing homelessness in the nation’s capital to leave the district.

“The Homeless have to move out, IMMEDIATELY. We will give you places to stay, but FAR from the Capital,” Trump posted on Truth Social, along with photos depicting tents in various parts of the city.

Trump went on to warn “criminals” they will be imprisoned, comparing what he expects will happen in the city to his administration’s crackdown on the U.S. southern border.

“Be prepared! There will be no ‘MR. NICE GUY.’ We want our Capital BACK. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” Trump wrote.

Trump is set to hold a press event this morning on safety in Washington.

Trump has not entered into specifics about what he will announce this morning, but said on social media yesterday that “it will not only involve ending the Crime, Murder, and Death in our Nation’s Capital, but will also be about Cleanliness and the General Physical Renovation and Condition of our once beautiful and well maintained Capital.”

The event comes as Trump has intensified threats in the past week to assume federal control of the city, following an assault on a well-known Department of Government Efficiency employee.