Trump to seek death penalty for murders in U.S. capital

President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office of the White House, Friday, Aug. 22, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday he would seek the death penalty for murders in Washington, as part of a crackdown on what he calls out-of-control crime in the U.S. capital.

“If somebody kills somebody in the capital, Washington DC, we’re going to be seeking the death penalty,” Trump said at a cabinet meeting in the White House.

“It’s a very strong preventative and everybody that’s heard it agrees with it,” Trump said at a cabinet meeting.

The death penalty move comes after Republican Trump deployed the National Guard to Democrat-run Washington and took federal control of the city’s police department earlier this month.

Washington -- formally known as the District of Columbia -- abolished the death penalty in 1981.

The U.S. capital has a unique legal status as it is not a state and operates under a relationship with the federal government that limits its autonomy and grants Congress extraordinary control over local matters.

Trump used this loophole to send the National Guard into Washington earlier this month to combat what he said was runaway crime and homelessness.

On Monday he boasted of a days-long streak without murders in the city and said he was also taking steps to beautify the capital, which is home to the White House, the US Capitol and other key institutions.

National Guard troops began carrying weapons in Washington on Sunday.

Trump says he is considering similar moves for other Democrat-run cities including Chicago, New York and Baltimore.