Democrats call Trump’s DC police takeover ‘a distraction’ from Epstein files, tariffs and tax bill – live updates | Trump administration
Published: 2025-08-12 15:51:49 | Views: 11
Democrats call Trump's DC police takeover 'a distraction' from Epstein, tariffs and tax bill
Leading Democrats are lambasting Donald Trump’s decision to federalise the DC Metropolitan police department (MPD) and deployment of 800 National Guard troops to the city.
Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer wrote on X that Trump’s actions are a “political ploy” and an “attempted distraction” from the president’s “other scandals”, seemingly referring to the ongoing Epstein files saga that plagues the administration.
Schumer went on to write:
If he actually cared about the people of DC, he’d demand the House finally release the billion dollars of DC’s funding they’ve been sitting on for months.
Meanwhile, speaker emerita Nancy Pelosi offered a similar criticism, but also citing the president’s inaction during the January 6 attack.
Donald Trump delayed deploying the National Guard on January 6th when our Capitol was under violent attack and lives were at stake. Now, he’s activating the DC Guard to distract from his incompetent mishandling of tariffs, health care, education and immigration — just to name a few blunders.
Illinois governor JB Pritzker, who has frequently been the subject of Trump’s ire (the president even repeatedly referred to Pritzker as “incompetent” during yesterday’s press conference), snapped back on social media. He wrote that Donald Trump has “no authority to take over Chicago” and even goaded the president: “By the way, where are the Epstein files?”
Other leading voices in the party like Pete Buttigieg – former transportation secretary – doubled down in a video posted online. Buttigieg said that Trump was only taking over the police department “to solve his own political problems” and get his base “thinking and talking about something other than his refusal to open up the Epstein files, because he’s mixed up in them”.
Key events
We’re getting an update that Stephen Miran – Donald Trump’s nomination for the vacant seat on the Federal Reserve board – arrived at the White House. It also looks like he just appeared on CNBC as short while ago.
This comes as the Bureau of Labor Statistics released the latest Consumer Price Index report earlier today. In Miran’s interview he said that there “continues to be no evidence whatsoever of tariff-induced inflation”.
The latest numbers show that core inflation, which excludes the volatile energy and food industries, went up 3.1% over the last month – a higher pace than what was seen in June.
Patrick Wintour
European Union leaders made a rallying call to defend Ukraine’s freedom to decide its own future in advance of their virtual summit with Donald Trump.
With the exception of Hungary, all EU leaders signed a joint statement, with Kaja Kallas, the EU foreign policy chief, also calling for the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, to attend the Trump-Putin summit in Alaska on Friday.
Trump insists his meeting with Putin is a “feel-out” to gauge the Russian leader’s willingness to compromise, but European leaders fear Trump will be lured into a joint declaration with Moscow that involves irretrievable concessions before substantive talks between Ukraine and Russia.
The EU leaders said: “Meaningful negotiations can only take place in the context of a ceasefire or reduction of hostilities,” adding: “We share the conviction that a diplomatic solution must protect Ukraine’s and Europe’s vital security interests.
“A Ukraine capable of defending itself effectively is an integral part of any future security guarantees.” They added that EU nations were ready to contribute further to security guarantees.
Our colleagues are bringing you the latest developments here
As Donald Trump begins his federal takeover of DC police, and deploys National Guard troops, among some of the most ardent members of the president’s base, this move is both a long-time coming and an opening to renew the push to repeal the DC Home Rule Act of 1973.
One lawmaker who has been particularly vocal is Republican Senator Mike Lee of Utah. On Monday, Lee posted a video on X pushing his legislation that would strip DC of it’s limited powers of self-governance, and for Congress to reassume complete control of the city. Online, Lee has wasted no time espousing how the BOWSER Act – a bill he introduced earlier this year – will grant Americans a “capital city that they can be proud of, not one that they’re afraid of”.
This effort is, however, unlikely to move forward. It would need 60 votes in the Senate, and require several Democrats to pass.
Trump responds to inflation data: 'Powell must lower the rate'
Donald Trump has posted on Truth Social following the release of the Consumer Price Index report, which shows an increase in prices throughout the US.
“Jerome ‘Too Late’ Powell must NOW lower the rate,” Trump wrote. “The damage he has done by always being Too Late is incalculable. Fortunately, the economy is sooo good that we’ve blown through Powell and the complacent Board”.
Trump added that he was considering allowing a lawsuit – focused on Powell’s renovation of the fed’s headquarters– to proceed. “Three Billion Dollars for a job that should have been a $50 Million Dollar fix up. Not good!,” the president said.
Michael Sainato
A newly appointed official at the US Department of Labor hired by the Trump administration has a recent history of racist, sexually graphic, and conspiratorial posts on social media.
Jessico Bowman announced last week that she was appointed deputy chief of staff of the Bureau of International Labor Affairs at the labor department. According to the bureau’s website, its job is to lead “the US Department of Labor’s efforts to ensure that workers around the world are treated fairly and are able to share in the benefits of the global economy”.
Bowman has deleted her account on X and Facebook accounts since announcing her hiring.
In posts seen by the Guardian, Bowman falsely claimed on X in June 2024 that the January 6 insurrection at the US Capitol was “a Democrat plot”, adding: “there was a war game simulation and a transition integrity project that planned this out. They thought Trump would win. They stole the election and then created violence and gas lit, jailed us, without due process, and or financially drained us into a silent acceptance.”
Bowman had previously worked as national secretary for the Republican Liberty Caucus, a libertarian-leaning political action organization.
Her posts include several sexually graphic posts about Kamala Harris during the 2024 election, including claiming Harris had “hawk tuah experience” and “hawk tuah’d her way to the White House”, tying the presidential candidate to a viral video referencing oral sex.
Read more about the new Trump labor official’s social media history here
House Oversight Committee to hold hearing with DC mayor and attorney general in September
The House Oversight Committee – which is one of two congressional committees that oversees the legislative functions of DC – will hold a hearing in September with DC mayor Muriel Bowser, DC attorney general Brian Schwalb, and council chair Phil Mendelson. That’s according to a statement from chairman James Comer, a Republican congressman from Kentucky.
Comer praised Donald Trump’s “bold and necessary action to crack down on crime and restore law and order” in the nation’s capital.
This hearing would likely come towards the end of the 30-day period, where the DC police are under federal control. In order to extend the president’s takeover, a joint resolution in Congress is required.
Latest inflation data shows slight increase
The Consumer Price Index for July was 2.7 percent, which is a little lower than the 2.8 percent forecast. It’s a 0.2 percent increase from June.
However, “Core” inflation – which leaves out volatile goods like food and energy to track how prices are increasing – rose by 0.3 percent. This marks a 3.1 percent increase over the course of a year.
The report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics suggests that some tariff-related costs are being passed on to consumers, as Americans start to feel their effects.
Democrats call Trump's DC police takeover 'a distraction' from Epstein, tariffs and tax bill
Leading Democrats are lambasting Donald Trump’s decision to federalise the DC Metropolitan police department (MPD) and deployment of 800 National Guard troops to the city.
Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer wrote on X that Trump’s actions are a “political ploy” and an “attempted distraction” from the president’s “other scandals”, seemingly referring to the ongoing Epstein files saga that plagues the administration.
Schumer went on to write:
If he actually cared about the people of DC, he’d demand the House finally release the billion dollars of DC’s funding they’ve been sitting on for months.
Meanwhile, speaker emerita Nancy Pelosi offered a similar criticism, but also citing the president’s inaction during the January 6 attack.
Donald Trump delayed deploying the National Guard on January 6th when our Capitol was under violent attack and lives were at stake. Now, he’s activating the DC Guard to distract from his incompetent mishandling of tariffs, health care, education and immigration — just to name a few blunders.
Illinois governor JB Pritzker, who has frequently been the subject of Trump’s ire (the president even repeatedly referred to Pritzker as “incompetent” during yesterday’s press conference), snapped back on social media. He wrote that Donald Trump has “no authority to take over Chicago” and even goaded the president: “By the way, where are the Epstein files?”
Other leading voices in the party like Pete Buttigieg – former transportation secretary – doubled down in a video posted online. Buttigieg said that Trump was only taking over the police department “to solve his own political problems” and get his base “thinking and talking about something other than his refusal to open up the Epstein files, because he’s mixed up in them”.
Later on, we’ll hear from the Trump administration for the second day in a row. The president won’t make an appearance, but press secretaryKaroline Leavitt will hold a White House briefing at 1pm ET.
Defense secretary Pete Hegseth says he’s proud to be part of the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches, an archconservative network of Christian congregations.
Hegseth recently made headlines when he shared a CNN video on social media about CREC, showing its pastors arguing women should not have the right to vote.
AP reports:
Pastor Doug Wilson, a CREC co-founder, leads Christ Church in Moscow, Idaho, the network’s flagship location. Jovial and media-friendly, Wilson is no stranger to stirring controversy with his church’s hard-line theology and its embrace of patriarchy and Christian nationalism.
Wilson told The Associated Press on Monday he was grateful Hegseth shared the video. He noted Hegseth’s post was labeled with Christ Church’s motto: “All of Christ for All of Life.”
“He was, in effect, reposting it and saying, ‘Amen,’ at some level,” Wilson said.
Hegseth, among President Donald Trump’s most controversial Cabinet picks, attends Pilgrim Hill Reformed Fellowship, a CREC member church in a suburb outside Nashville, Tennessee. His pastor, Brooks Potteiger, prayed at a service Hegseth hosted at the Pentagon.
CREC recently opened a new outpost in the nation’s capital, Christ Church DC, with Hegseth attending its first Sunday service.
Pentagon chief spokesman Sean Parnell confirmed Hegseth’s CREC affiliation and told the AP that Hegseth “very much appreciates many of Wilson’s writings and teachings.”
Meanwhile, the European Union was unable to say when a joint statement on tariffs with the United States will be ready nor when it expects the White House to issue an executive order on European car import duties, a European Commission spokesperson said on Tuesday.
“It is an agreement that we believe is strong and the best we could have ... Of course, we expect the US to take further steps that are part of this agreement but I don’t believe at this stage we can put a timeline on these engagements,” the spokesperson said.
EU leaders appeal to Trump to defend security interests in meeting with Putin
European Union leaders appealed on Tuesday to US president Donald Trump to defend their security interests at a key summit with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin later this week over the war in Ukraine.
Putin appeared to be on the verge of making a key territorial grab ahead of Friday’s summit, potentially to use as leverage in any peace negotiations, AP reported.
The Europeans are desperate to exert some influence over the meeting from which they have been sidelined. It remains unclear whether even Ukraine will take part. Trump has said that he wants to see whether Putin is serious about ending the war, now in its fourth year.
But Trump has disappointed US allies in Europe by saying that Ukraine will have to give up some Russian-held territory. He also said that Russia must accept land swaps, although it remains unclear what Putin might be expected to surrender.
Lauren Gambino
Texas Democrats once again stymied a Republican effort to redraw the state’s congressional maps at the behest of Donald Trump, and Gavin Newsom, the California governor, urged the president to stand down and defuse the redistricting arms race that has spread across the country.
Enough Texas Democrats remained outside of the state on Monday to deny the Republican-led state legislature the quorum necessary to proceed with Trump’s desired congressional map. Dozens of Democratic state lawmakers left the state last week, taking refuge in blue states such as Illinois and New York. They have spent the last week working to raise awareness and rally support for their efforts to block the Republican redistricting plan.
The standoff has widened the redistricting wars, with Newsom and other Democratic state leaders threatening to draw retaliatory maps if Texas moves ahead with its redistricting scheme.
In a letter to Trump on Monday, Newsom said the president was “playing with fire” and warned that California was prepared to consider new boundaries to “neutralize” any gains Republicans hope to achieve in Texas.
“This attempt to rig congressional maps to hold onto power before a single vote is cast in the 2026 election is an affront to American democracy,” Newsom wrote.
The governor said he would prefer to leave the matter of congressional map-making to independent commissions, not partisan legislative bodies and emphasized that he would “happily” stand down if other states abandoned their redistricting effort. But, Newsom said: “California cannot stand idly by as this power grab unfolds.”
In a snarky, all-caps tweet meant to mimic Trump’s social media style, Newsom’s office summarized the letter: “DONALD TRUMP, IF YOU DO NOT STAND DOWN, WE WILL BE FORCED TO LEAD AN EFFORT TO REDRAW THE MAPS IN CA TO OFFSET THE RIGGING OF MAPS IN RED STATES. BUT IF THE OTHER STATES CALL OFF THEIR REDISTRICTING EFFORTS, WE WILL DO THE SAME. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER!”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But when asked, Trump has defended the Texas plan, arguing that he is “entitled to five more seats” because he won the state’s popular vote in the 2024 presidential election. The argument, however, is flawed – a popular vote win does not necessarily mean a president’s party is awarded more congressional seats.
Coral Murphy Marcos
Donald Trump has announced he is nominating EJ Antoni, the chief economist at the conservative Heritage Foundation, as the next commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“Our Economy is booming, and E.J. will ensure that the Numbers released are HONEST and ACCURATE,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
The nomination comes after Trump fired the BLS commissioner, Erika McEntarfer, earlier this month following the release of a weak jobs report which he claimed, without evidence, had been “rigged”.
Antoni, a longtime critic of the agency, had previously voiced concerns about revisions to the BLS jobs data.
“There are better ways to collect, process, and disseminate data – that is the task for the next BLS commissioner, and only consistent delivery of accurate data in a timely manner will rebuild the trust that has been lost over the last several years,” Antoni posted on X earlier this month.
The Senate will have to confirm his nomination to lead the BLS, an independent agency under the labor department. The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday that former White House adviser and rightwing provocateur Steve Bannon had advocated for Antoni’s nomination.
Trump mulls creating 'quick reaction force' of national guard troops - report
The Trump administration is evaluating plans to create a “Domestic Civil Disturbance Quick Reaction Force” composed of hundreds of national guard troops tasked with rapidly deploying into US cities facing protests or unrest, the Washington Post reported on Tuesday citing internal Pentagon documents.
Patrick Wintour
Donald Trump has confirmed that he and Vladimir Putin will discuss “land swapping” when they meet on Friday in Alaska for a high-stakes summit on the Ukraine war. But the US president expressed frustration with Volodymyr Zelenskyy for putting conditions on such a potential agreement.
During a news conference at the White House on Monday, Trump said he was frustrated with Zelenskyy’s insistence that Ukraine would need to hold a national referendum on any peace deal that stipulated recognising Russian control over territory that it has occupied during the war.
“I was a little bothered by the fact that Zelenskyy was saying I have to get constitutional approval,” Trump said. “He has approval to go to war and kill everybody but he needs approval to do a land swap. Because there will be some land swapping going on. I know that through Russia and through conversations with everybody.”
European diplomats have been taken aback by the lack of clarity on the US side about the territories Putin is demanding from Ukraine and the terms of a ceasefire. The discrepancies within the US reporting back on what Russia is seeking has alarmed European diplomats and only added to a fear that Trump, inflating his personal relationship with Putin, could make damaging concessions.
Describing his vision for a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, Trump said an agreement would include “good stuff, not bad stuff, also some bad stuff for both”. “We’re going to change the lines, the battle lines,” he added.
Michael Sainato
Donald Trump has once again delayed implementing sweeping tariffs on China, announcing another 90-day pause just hours before the last agreement between the world’s two largest economies was due to expire.
On Monday, Trump signed an executive order extending the deadline for higher tariffs on China until 10 November, officials confirmed to Reuters.
Chinese officials said earlier in the day they hoped the United States would strive for “positive” trade outcomes on Monday, as the 90-day detente reached between the two countries in May was due to expire.
China’s commerce ministry, in a statement on early Tuesday, said it will suspend additional tariffs on US goods for 90 more days, after Trump signed an executive order extending the tariff truce.
China will maintain its tariffs on US goods at 10%, the statement said, and take action to address non-tariff barriers facing American products. China will also postpone for 90 days the addition of US firms it had targeted in April to trade and investment restriction lists.
Trump's order to deploy troops in DC is 'unsettling and unprecedented' – DC mayor
Hello and welcome to the US politics live blog. I’m Tom Ambrose and I will be bringing you the latest news lines over the next few hours.
We start with news that Donald Trump has ordered the national guard to Washington DC and seized control of the city’s police force, in a move described as “unsettling and unprecedented” by DC’s mayor.
The US president’s move was swiftly condemned as a “disgusting, dangerous and derogatory” assault on the political independence of a racially diverse city. The federal takeover is expected to be in effect for 30 days, the White House confirmed to the Guardian.
Speaking at a White House press conference on Monday, Trump said he was taking “a historic action to rescue our nation’s capital from crime, bloodshed, bedlam, and squalor and worse. This is liberation day in DC and we’re going to take our capital back.”
He described Washington DC as “one of the most dangerous cities anywhere in the world”, claiming its murder rate is higher than Bogotá or Mexico City, even though violent crime is at a 30-year low.
The defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, who was among officials joining Trump on the podium, said 800 national guard troops would take to the streets of Washington over the coming week. “They will be strong, they will be tough and they will stand with their law enforcement partners,” he said.
Later Muriel Bowser, the mayor of DC, who has pursued a non-confrontational relationship with Trump, described the intervention as “unsettling and unprecedented” but declined to criticise the president directly.
“I’ve said before, and I’ll repeat, that I believe that the president’s view of DC is shaped by his Covid-era experience during his first term,” she told reporters.
“It is true that those were more challenging times related to some issues. It is also true that we experienced a crime spike post-Covid but we worked quickly to put laws in place and tactics that got violent offenders off our streets, and gave our police officers more tools.”
Read the full story here:
In other developments:
President Donald Trump has nominated conservative economist EJ Antoni to head the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the agency that is responsible for collecting and publishing the country’s employment and inflation figures. The nomination comes after Trump fired the BLS commissioner, Erika McEntarfer, earlier this month following the release of a weak jobs report which he claimed had been “rigged”.
Trump has once again delayed implementing sweeping tariffs on China, announcing another 90-day pause just hours before the last agreement between the world’s two largest economies was due to expire. On Monday, Trump signed an executive order extending the deadline for higher tariffs on China until 10 November.
A federal judge in San Francisco on Monday began hearing evidence and arguments on whether the Trump administration violated federal law when it deployed national guard soldiers and US marines to Los Angeles after protests over immigration raids this summer. The Trump administration federalized California national guard members and sent them to the second-largest US city over the objections of the California governor, Gavin Newsom, and city leaders.
Trump previewed his Friday meeting with Vladimir Putin in Alaska, claiming he will know “probably in the first two minutes” whether a peace deal can be made. Trump confirmed that while Volodymyr Zelenskyy wouldn’t be a part of the summit, he would call him first as soon as he saw a “fair deal” for a ceasefire emerge. He also didn’t rule out the possibility of a future trading relationship with Russia.
A federal judge rejected on Monday a request from the justice department to unseal the grand jury transcripts relating to the criminal investigation of Ghislaine Maxwell – Jeffrey Epstein’s former girlfriend, who is serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking. The judge wrote that the transcripts could not be released publicly – “casually or promiscuously” – as Trump’s government had pushed for because it would risk “unraveling the foundations of secrecy upon which the grand jury is premised”.
