President Trump this week moved from rhetoric to action in his push for more federal control of Washington, D.C. Citing a “public safety emergency,” he is deploying National Guard troops to support federal officers already in place, taking direct control of the city’s police department under a provision of the 1973 Home Rule Act, and pledging to “get rid of the slums.”

Democrats' reaction has been swift and condemnatory. They cast the move as the latest instance of his authoritarian overreach.

“This is what dictators do,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom proclaimed on X. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said the move had “no basis in law.” The New York Times ran the headline: “Trump threatens federal takeover of Washington after Member of DOGE is Assaulted."

In reality, the Constitution not only allows this but anticipates federal intervention in the capital’s affairs, at least in some circumstances. That's because the District of Columbia was created precisely so that the seat of government would not depend on any state for its security, funding or order.

Washington is not a state and never has been. Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution grants........

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