The White House is pushing back against criticism that the federal takeover of D.C.’s police department and National Guard personnel is not focusing on the high-crime areas of D.C.

The White House is pushing back against criticism that the federal takeover of D.C.’s police department, along with the growing number of National Guard personnel, is not focusing enough on the high-crime areas of D.C.

Democratic members of Congress, as well as community activists, have accused President Donald Trump and his administration of using National Guard members as props for photo ops in heavily trafficked tourist areas.

They argue that federal law enforcement has not been placed east of the Anacostia River, where the highest concentration of violent crime occurs in the District, according to crime statistics maps.

“All of this is a total abuse of power. It’s a manufactured emergency,” U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland said in a weekend interview on ABC’s “This Week.”

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Tuesday addressed criticism linked to the city’s crime hot spots.

“In fact, nearly half of all of the non-illegal alien arrests have occurred in Wards 7 and 8,” she said.

A White House official told WTOP that between Aug. 9 and Aug. 17, there had been a total of 212 non-immigration related arrests. Of those, 101 were in Wards 7 and 8.

Of those 101 arrests, 40 arrests were made in Ward 7 and 61 arrests in Ward 8. The greatest numbers were for gun-related and drug-related charges. Twenty-four of the arrests were for gun-related charges in Ward 8, along with 13 arrests for drug charges.

Crime was already trending downward in the crime hot spots

Residents in the two wards have complained for years about the high level of crime and many residents say they are glad the issue is being taken seriously across the city.

But there has also been skepticism about the latest crime-fighting efforts, since so much attention has focused on National Guard members and law enforcement in other parts of D.C.

Crime, while still high in the two southern wards, has been trending downward, according to numbers provided by D.C.’s police department.

In Ward 8, there were 99 murders in 2023. Last year, there were 66.

As of Tuesday, there had been 38 murders in Ward 8 this year. By comparison, there have been four murders in Ward 2, which includes the National Mall and Georgetown.

D.C. crime data shows that motor vehicle thefts in Ward 8 spiked in 2023 at 1,014. That figure dropped to 732 last year; and in 2025, there have been 443 so far.

The White House has been releasing daily figures related to arrests made by federal authorities, and Leavitt said Tuesday that it will continue to do so.

While many Republican-led states are sending additional National Guard members to D.C., one GOP governor has decided not to. Vermont Gov. Phil Scott (R) has “politely declined” a federal request.

A spokesman for the governor said he did not view enforcement of the law as a proper use of the National Guard. He said the outcome might be different if officials with the D.C. government were making a request related to an emergency situation.

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