Political Wire

  • Front Page
  • Members
    • Subscribe
    • Sign In
  • Trending
  • Resources
    • Politics Extra
    • Political Job Hunt
    • Political Dictionary
    • Electoral Vote Map
  • Advertise
  • Newsletter
  • Contact Us
You are here: Home / City Hall / Who’s In Control of D.C.’s Police?

Become a member to get many great benefits -- exclusive analysis, trending news, a private podcast, no ads and more!


Who’s In Control of D.C.’s Police?

August 13, 2025 at 10:00 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Washington Post: “A day after President Donald Trump said he would deploy the National Guard in the nation’s capital, federalized the local police department and issued officers a far-reaching mandate to ‘do whatever the hell they want’ to curb crime, it remained unclear what new directives, if any, D.C. police would receive from their new federal managers.”

“District officials said they were still in command of the department, operating as usual having received no new orders from the Trump administration.”

The Bulwark: “We’re already seeing at least one immediate effect: A surge of federal officers loitering around with too much time on their hands.”

FavoriteLoadingSave to Favorites
  • Bluesky
  • X
  • Threads
  • Facebook
  • Email

Filed Under: City Hall, Crime and Punishment


You're reading the free version of Political Wire

Upgrade to a paid membership to unlock full access. The process is quick and easy. You can even use Apple Pay.

Upgrade Now

  • ✔ Become a member to get many great benefits -- exclusive analysis, trending news, a private podcast, no ads and more!
  • ✔ If you're already a member, log in for the full experience.



Recent Posts

MAGA’s Siege Mentality Deepens

September 11, 2025 at 1:54 pm EDT

“Charlie Kirk’s assassination has unleashed an outpouring of rage across the MAGA universe, with many leaders feeling his death is evidence the movement is under attack from leftist forces,” Axios…

2026 House Overview

September 11, 2025 at 1:48 pm EDT

Just for members: The latest edition of Inside Elections. This issue is the quarterly House Overview. It includes updated analysis of more than 100 districts around the country and a…

Vance to Escort Charlie Kirk’s Body Back to Arizona

September 11, 2025 at 1:43 pm EDT

“Vice President JD Vance plans to escort Charlie Kirk’s body and his wife Erika, some of their family members and close friends aboard Air Force Two to Arizona on Thursday,”…

Official Walks Back Report on Engraved Ammunition

September 11, 2025 at 1:33 pm EDTSeptember 11, 2025 at 1:34 pm EDT

A senior law enforcement official cautioned that the report that there were engravings on the ammunition used to shoot Charlie Kirk “had not been verified by ATF analysts, did not…

Trump Pours Gas on a Dangerous Fire

September 11, 2025 at 1:24 pm EDTSeptember 11, 2025 at 1:27 pm EDT

Dan Pfeiffer: “President Trump had the opportunity to speak to our better angels—to try to heal the wounds on both sides of our bitterly divided politics. But of course he…

Belarus Frees 52 Prisoners After Trump Deal

September 11, 2025 at 1:19 pm EDT

“Belarus freed 52 prisoners including an EU employee on Thursday after an appeal from President Donald Trump, and they headed to Lithuania with the U.S. delegation that negotiated their release,”…

Jobless Claims Jump to Highest in Almost Four Years

September 11, 2025 at 1:07 pm EDT

“Applications for U.S. unemployment benefits jumped last week to the highest level in almost four years, indicating layoff activity may be on the rise amid a sharp slowdown in hiring,”…

Howard Lutnick Moves the Goalposts

September 11, 2025 at 1:05 pm EDT

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told Axios that President Trump “will own the economy’s performance by the end of 2025… a much later window than he and other administration officials have…

State Department Issues Warning to Immigrants

September 11, 2025 at 1:02 pm EDTSeptember 11, 2025 at 1:02 pm EDT

The State Department indicated it would review the legal status of immigrants “praising, rationalizing, or making light” of conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s fatal shooting, Axios reports. Said Deputy Secretary of…

The Tragedy of Charlie Kirk’s Killing

September 11, 2025 at 1:00 pm EDTSeptember 11, 2025 at 12:33 pm EDT

George Packer: “Some right-wing activists are calling for the Trump administration to crack down on leftist organizations—in other words, to use Kirk’s death as a pretext for political repression, which…

Eric Adams Hints He Could Drop Out

September 11, 2025 at 12:57 pm EDT

NBC New York: “In public, Mayor Eric Adams says he’s in it to win it.” “But during an off-the-record roundtable with about 20 city leaders Wednesday afternoon, three people in…

What Charlie Kirk’s Assassination Says About Us

September 11, 2025 at 12:55 pm EDTSeptember 11, 2025 at 12:55 pm EDT

David Graham: “All murders are horrifying, but political violence brings its own special challenges. A society that resorts to violence to solve its problems starts to surrender its claim on…

Nadine Menendez Gets More Than Four Years

September 11, 2025 at 12:25 pm EDTSeptember 11, 2025 at 12:25 pm EDT

“Nadine Menendez was sentenced to more than four years in prison for participating with her husband and former Sen. Bob Menendez in a corruption scheme to obtain expensive gifts and…

Morgan Luttrell Won’t Run Again

September 11, 2025 at 12:22 pm EDTSeptember 11, 2025 at 12:27 pm EDT

Rep. Morgan Luttrell (R-TX) announced he would not seek reelection in 2026.Save to Favorites

FBI Releases Photos of Suspect

September 11, 2025 at 12:06 pm EDTSeptember 11, 2025 at 12:08 pm EDT

The FBI released two photos of a ‘person of interest’ in connection with the shooting of Charlie Kirk as investigators appeal to the public for information, the AP reports The…

The Era of Step-on-a-Rake Capitalism

September 11, 2025 at 12:00 pm EDTSeptember 11, 2025 at 11:19 am EDT

Derek Thompson: “To put it simply, or at least as simply as one can: Trump’s economic agenda is deeply Reaganite and deeply anti-conservative; somewhat capitalist and frequently socialist; declaratively obsessed…

The Beginning of the End of NATO

September 11, 2025 at 11:55 am EDTSeptember 11, 2025 at 11:20 am EDT

Robert Kagan: “This is when the world finds out whether the United States remains committed to Europe’s defense.”Save to Favorites

Bonus Quote of the Day

September 11, 2025 at 11:50 am EDTSeptember 11, 2025 at 11:23 am EDT

“If anyone in the sound of my voice celebrated, even a little bit, at the news of the shooting, I would beg you to look in the mirror and to…

Trump’s Dangerous Response to the Kirk Assassination

September 11, 2025 at 11:16 am EDT

Jonathan Chait: “It is possible that, in the history of America’s radicalization spiral, the horrifying, cold-blooded assassination of the right-wing activist Charlie Kirk will be recorded as only the second-most-dangerous…

Democrats Coalesce Around Shutdown Demand

September 11, 2025 at 11:13 am EDT

“Top congressional Democrats have agreed on what they will demand of GOP leaders in return for voting to extend government funding this month: Any shutdown-averting deal needs to include health…

« Trump Has Made Himself Head of the Chip Industry
Trump Wins Court Fight to Withhold Foreign Aid »

Get Smarter About Politics

Members get exclusive analysis, a trending news page, the Trial Balloon podcast, bonus newsletters and no advertising. Learn more.

Subscribe

Your Account

Sign in

Latest for Members

  • The Wrong President for This Moment
  • Schumer Breaches Protocol to Trigger Vote on Epstein Files
  • The Hoax Playbook, Revisited
  • A Shutdown Would Backfire on Democrats
  • A Catch-All Message to Frame Republicans in 2026

Word of the Day

Photo-Op: A photo-op is short for a “photo opportunity,” an event specifically staged for television news cameras or photographers to increase a politician’s exposure.

Read the full definition

About Political Wire

goddard-bw-snapshotTaegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.

Praise for Political Wire

“There are a lot of blogs and news sites claiming to understand politics, but only a few actually do. Political Wire is one of them.”

— Chuck Todd, host of “Meet the Press”

“Concise. Relevant. To the point. Political Wire is the first site I check when I’m looking for the latest political nugget. That pretty much says it all.”

— Stuart Rothenberg, editor of the Rothenberg Political Report

“Political Wire is one of only four or five sites that I check every day and sometimes several times a day, for the latest political news and developments.”

— Charlie Cook, editor of the Cook Political Report

“The big news, delicious tidbits, pearls of wisdom — nicely packaged, constantly updated… What political junkie could ask for more?”

— Larry Sabato, Center for Politics, University of Virginia

“Political Wire is a great, great site.”

— Joe Scarborough, host of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe”

“Taegan Goddard has a knack for digging out political gems that too often get passed over by the mainstream press, and for delivering the latest electoral developments in a sharp, no frills style that makes his Political Wire an addictive blog habit you don’t want to kick.”

— Arianna Huffington, founder of The Huffington Post

“Political Wire is one of the absolute must-read sites in the blogosphere.”

— Glenn Reynolds, founder of Instapundit

“I rely on Taegan Goddard’s Political Wire for straight, fair political news, he gets right to the point. It’s an eagerly anticipated part of my news reading.”

— Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist.

Copyright © 2025 · Goddard Media LLC | Privacy Policy | Corrections Policy

Political Wire ® is a registered trademark of Goddard Media LLC