30 Days Isn't Long Enough to Control DC Police: Trump

President Trump said on Wednesday that he wants to keep control of police in Washington, DC, for longer than 30 days—the legal limit under the District's Home Rule Act unless Congress agrees to a longer period with a joint resolution. "We're going to be asking for extensions on that, long-term extensions," Trump said, per Politico, "because you can't have 30 days." White House officials told Axios that the federal force will switch from evenings only to round-the-clock patrols in Washington starting Wednesday night.

Trump made the comments at the Kennedy Center while cementing his takeover there. He said he expects congressional Republicans to unanimously approve an emergency extension; Democratic votes would be needed to get it through the Senate. "I don't want to call a national emergency—if I have to I will," he said. When he announced the takeover, Trump said crime was out of control in DC, though that's not what police data show, per the Washington Post. "It doesn't really matter what the numbers say," Mayor Muriel Bowser pointed out Wednesday, "he can make an emergency declaration."