Trump cuts DC security funding by 44% even though he says crime is “completely out of control”
The Trump administration cuts DC security funding by 44% even though it says crime is “completely out of control.”
Although President Donald Trump says crime in the nation’s capital is “totally out of control,” the Trump administration has announced significant cuts to security expenditures for Washington, D.C.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced last week that the National Capital Region, which includes Washington, DC, and the neighboring cities of Maryland and Virginia, will receive $25.2 million in federal security funding this year. This is a 44% decrease from the previous year’s allocation. The reduction is the largest decline for any U.S. urban region receiving program funding in the most recent fiscal year, amounting to $20 million less than in 2024.
The decision was supported by the Department of Homeland Security, which is in charge of FEMA, which stated that the modifications represent a reevaluation of priorities.
The adjustments were made in accordance with the “current threat landscape,” the agency said on Friday, adding that it has “observed a shift from large-scale, coordinated attacks like 9/11 to simpler, small-scale assaults, heightening the vulnerability of soft targets and crowded spaces in urban areas.”
Despite not being as bad as DC, other large cities witnessed reductions as well, including Chicago, New York City, Los Angeles, Jersey City, and San Francisco.
A Reuters request for comment was not immediately answered by DC Mayor Muriel Bowser’s office.
In the past, the security funds have addressed a variety of regional requirements, such as hazmat training, hiring officers, and improving the fiber infrastructure of the emergency communications network, according to a 2016 report from the Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency in D.C.
This year, FEMA has $553.5 million to disburse across the country. The amount that these federal funds contribute to the overall security budget of the National Capital Region is unknown.
The funding reductions follow Trump’s directive to federal police to “increase their presence in the capital” in the wake of the alleged assault on Edward Coristine, a worker. The action is part of a larger trend toward a more powerful federal role in city management.
Despite the president’s assertion that crime is on the rise, a December report from the US Attorney’s Office for DC found that violent crime in DC actually decreased by 35% between 2023 and 2024.
