But during his speech announcing the 2025 Kennedy Center honorees on Wednesday, Trump repeatedly floated circumventing Congress to maintain his hold over the city’s law enforcement. “If it’s a national emergency we can do it without Congress, but we expect to be before Congress very quickly,” Trump said.

Trump's federalization of the D.C. police is spurning outrage among Democrats and local activists claiming this is another example why D.C. needs statehood.