President Donald Trump is once again floating a federal takeover of Washington, D.C.—a move that would upend more than 50 years of home rule in the nation’s capital.

“We could run D.C. I mean, we’re looking at D.C.,” Trump said during a Tuesday Cabinet meeting. “We’re thinking about doing it, to be honest with you. We want a capital that’s run flawlessly.”

Trump framed the potential takeover as a response to crime, claiming that it would drastically reduce violence. 

“The crime would be down to a minimal, it’d be much less,” he said. 

In reality, police data shows that D.C.’s homicide rate is tracking close to last year’s, and overall violent crime is slightly down. Still, high-profile incidents continue to grab headlines, like the shooting last week that left two injured and killed 21-year-old congressional intern Eric Tarpinian-Jachym.

Trump didn’t explain what a federal takeover would actually entail but said that White House chief of staff Susie Wiles is in contact with D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser. His latest comments build on earlier threats, including a warning over the weekend that the White House could intervene if the D.C. Council blocks a new NFL stadium for the Washington Commanders at the federally owned RFK Stadium site.

This isn’t the first time that Trump has raised the idea of a takeover. In February, he made the suggestion and accused Bowser of mismanaging the city. He also pledged on the campaign trail to fix D.C. and has repeatedly slammed the capital for crime and homeless encampments. 

Still, Bowser’s relationship with Trump has warmed during his second term. The Democratic mayor has visited the White House to support legislation related to the Commanders’ stadium and backed the removal of Black Lives Matter Plaza near the White House.

“We’ve had a good relationship with the mayor, and we’re testing it to see if it works,” Trump said Tuesday.

But Trump’s appetite for asserting federal control isn’t limited to D.C. He used similar rhetoric when talking about New York City, where democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani recently won the Democratic primary for mayor. 

“If a communist gets elected to run New York, it can never be the same. But we have tremendous power at the White House to run places when we have to,” Trump said. “New York City will run properly. We’re going to bring New York back.”

Trump has urged New Yorkers to reject Mamdani in the general election, labeling him a “communist,” among other things. Mamdani is expected to face incumbent Mayor Eric Adams—who is running as an independent—as well as Republican Curtis Sliwa and former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.

But while Trump talks tough, revoking D.C.’s home rule would be no small feat. Congress would have to pass legislation dismantling the city’s local government, and only a small group of conservative Republicans currently back such a move.

In the short term, Trump could pursue narrower options, like taking control of the Metropolitan Police Department or using federal levers to pressure city officials.

For now, it’s a political threat. But in Trump’s second term, the gap between rhetoric and action has only gotten harder to predict.