Trump reinstates death penalty in DC, Pam Bondi says DOJ will seek capital punishment nationwide
WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump on Thursday signed a presidential memorandum seeking to reinstate the death penalty in Washington, DC, declaring that the nation’s capital should apply the ultimate punishment in the most serious crimes.
“The death penalty in Washington,” Trump said in the Oval Office.
“You kill somebody, or if you kill a police officer, law enforcement officer-death penalty. And hopefully they won’t do that. It’s a very interesting capital punishment, capital city. Capital, capital, capital.”
The directive orders Attorney General Pam Bondi and US Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro to ensure that the death penalty is fully implemented in the city “where the evidence and facts of the case indicate that the death penalty should be used,” according to White House staff secretary Will Scharf.
Pam Bondi says Justice Department seeks nationwide capital punishment
Standing beside the president, Attorney General Bondi announced that the policy would not be limited to DC.
“Not only are we seeking it in Washington, DC, but all over the country, again,” Bondi said.
She also revealed that the Justice Department is in the process of moving inmates who had been taken off federal death row under former President Joe Biden into maximum-security prisons.
“We’re moving them to Supermax facilities where they will be treated like they’re on death row for the rest of their lives,” she said.
The announcement builds on Trump’s comments last month that capital punishment should serve as a “very strong preventative” measure.
While he acknowledged that individual states would need to make their own decisions, Trump said the federal government had a duty to act in DC.
President Donald Trump has consistently advocated for the use of the death penalty, framing it as a crucial tool for deterring and punishing heinous crimes.
In January 2025, he emphasized that capital punishment is essential for addressing the most severe offences and acts of lethal violence against American citizens.
President Trump campaigned on the promise to make America safe again and restore Washington, DC to glory.
A fact sheet issued by White House said President Trump vowed that his administration would “...renovate, and rebuild our capital city so that it is no longer a nightmare of murder and crime, but rather it will become the most beautiful capital anywhere in the world.”
In March, a task force was created to make DC 'safe and beautiful', surging law enforcement to restore order and enhance the city’s infrastructure.
In August, Trump mobilized the National Guard and utilized Section 740 of the Home Rule Act to restore law and order in the District of Columbia. In late August, he signed an Executive Order taking steps to ensure that cashless bail in Washington, DC, is eliminated.
