President Trump on Monday announced he was putting the Washington, D.C., police department under federal control and deploying the National Guard in what he portrayed as a crackdown on crime in the nation’s capital.

“This is liberation day in D.C. and we’re going to take our capital back,” said Trump, who has long floated plans to overhaul the District that’s governed by a council of elected representatives and a mayor.

“Our capital city has been overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals, roving mobs of wild youth, drugged-out maniacs and homeless people, and we’re not going to let it happen anymore,” the president told a packed White House press briefing room.

With D.C. police now under federal control, here’s what to expect next.

Bondi, DEA chief to run point

Trump’s declaration of taking over the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) delegates authority of the city’s police force to Trump’s-appointed Attorney General Pam Bondi.

A few hours after Trump’s announcement, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said she would follow the executive order and had reached out to Bondi to meet.

Trump also announced he was designating Terry Cole as MPD’s interim federal commissioner. Cole was confirmed just under three weeks ago to lead the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

Trump at his press conference lauded Cole as the “most highly recommended person” and “one of the top in the country.”

“He better be. Terry, if not, I’m going to get rid of you so fast,” Trump joked.

MPD Chief Pamela Smith said she was in contact with federal partners, telling D.C. residents the announcement meant residents should expect an “enhanced presence” in the city.

One expert thinks it could have longlasting efforts on the department - and not in a good way.

Tahir Duckett, executive director of the Center for Innovations in Community Safety and an adjunct professor at Georgetown Law, said some in the D.C. police force may get frustrated by reassignments and being overseen by a federal force that does very different work from community policing.

It could also shake DC residents and further hamper crime-fighting.

"It's going to break........

© The Hill