DC mayor says it isn't legal for Trump to use National Guard to 'police Americans on American soil'

WASHINGTON, DC: DC Mayor Muriel Bowser has taken a public stand against President Donald Trump’s decision to deploy the National Guard across US cities, questioning its legality and warning that the move could endanger democratic norms.

Speaking at the Fortune Most Powerful Women conference on Wednesday, October 15, Bowser said such actions blur the line between civil authority and military enforcement.

At the event, the Democratic mayor called the use of troops to police civilians “a slippery slope” and said Americans should be deeply alarmed by what it means “for our democracy.”

Muriel Bowser questions Trump's National Guard deployments

Muriel Bowser’s sharp remarks came in response to a question about her refusal to back Donald Trump’s recent National Guard deployments as part of his national crime crackdown.

“I don’t think it’s legal, let me start there, for the National Guard to police Americans on American soil,” she said, drawing applause from the audience.

She pointed out that Washington, DC, operates under a unique structure compared to other states, one where the National Guard answers directly to the president, not the local government.

“While I can request the National Guard, they are completely federally operated. And so DC is a little different than in other places for the DC National Guard,” she mentioned.

Bowser emphasized that her administration only uses the Guard for emergencies or large-scale public events. “We use the Guard to respond to emergencies. We use the Guard for large-scale events. We do not use the Guard to police our local laws,” she stressed.

Muriel Bowser calls use of military a 'slippery slope'

Donald Trump signed an executive order in August declaring a crime emergency in the nation’s capital and authorizing the deployment of federal troops. The order has since expanded to other Democratic-led cities, including Chicago, Philadelphia, and Baltimore.

Earlier this month, a federal appeals court partially restored Trump’s control over the Illinois National Guard but stopped short of granting him full deployment authority nationwide.

Bowser said she believes such measures are troubling and set a dangerous precedent. “We should all be concerned about the military being used because it’s a slippery slope,” she warned. “You use it for crowd control one day or presence the next day — it’s not a long jump to using it in other ways that could interfere with the very nature of American democracy.”

Push for DC statehood and local autonomy

During her talk, Muriel Bowser also revisited her push for DC statehood, arguing that the lack of representation for 700,000 residents is a major flaw in American democracy.

“There are 700,000 Americans who don’t have a voice in Congress, and that voice could impact a larger national agenda,” she said.

The mayor dismissed assumptions that statehood would automatically benefit Democrats, saying fair representation should not depend on political alignment.

“Now it’s assumed that we would have two Democratic senators, that’s probably true — but maybe it’s not,” she insisted. “Having those two more voices in the Senate may make a difference in how we approach war and peace in the world, who sits on the Supreme Court, who the director or secretary of this or that agency is.”

When asked if she discussed these issues with Trump directly, Bowser quipped, “I’m actively trying to keep them out of our affairs,” earning laughter and applause from the crowd.