New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller sharply criticized President Donald Trump’s deployment of 800 National Guard troops to Washington D.C., calling it “executive overreach” that contrasts starkly with their state-local collaboration on public safety.
The rebuke from the state’s and Albuquerque’s top elected officials comes as the city has seen significant crime reductions this year while using its own National Guard deployment in a support role — without weapons and with full local coordination.
“President Trump is making unilateral decisions that appear politically motivated rather than focusing on building appropriate responses to public safety challenges,” the officials said in a joint written statement issued Monday after Trump announced federal control of Washington’s police department and Guard deployment.
Trump announced he was invoking Section 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act to take direct federal control of Washington’s police department and deploy National Guard troops to combat what he called a crime emergency. The action came despite data showing violent crime in the nation’s capital has fallen 26% this year and reached 30-year lows in 2024, according to Justice Department statistics.
“This is Liberation Day in D.C., and we’re going to take our capital back,” Trump said at a White House news conference, describing the city as overrun by “violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals.”
The deployment mirrors Trump’s controversial use of military forces in Los Angeles in June, when he deployed more than 2,000 National Guard troops over California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s objections to respond to immigration enforcement protests.
The federal action stands in sharp contrast to New Mexico’s collaborative approach to using National Guard resources for public safety. Since mid-May, 60-70 New Mexico National Guard members have been supporting Albuquerque police operations through state-local coordination.
New Mexico’s Guard members carry no weapons, wear civilian clothes rather than military uniforms, and perform only support functions like scene security, medical assistance and prisoner transport. The $750,000 deployment was requested by Albuquerque Police Chief Harold Medina, approved by the governor and supported by the mayor.
“Here in New Mexico, we are addressing public safety challenges by bringing local and state resources together to make our communities safer,” Lujan Grisham and Keller said in their statement. “This frees our trained police officers to focus on proactive, community-centered policing.”
The New Mexico officials warned that Trump’s unilateral deployment “sets a dangerous precedent and undermines safety in our nation’s capital.”
“President Trump is attempting to use the National Guard as a city police force in a similar manner he used the military in California, which is about politics, not fighting crime,” they said in the statement.
The officials argued the contrast “couldn’t be clearer” between Trump’s approach and New Mexico’s model, which they said brings together local and state governments to “make our communities genuinely safer.”
“While President Trump uses the National Guard to trample local leadership, New Mexico brings together local and state governments to make our communities genuinely safer,” the statement read. “As a result, we are maintaining momentum in reducing crime through the summer months.”
The White House has not directly responded to the New Mexico officials’ criticism. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has previously described similar critics as “feckless Democrat leaders” and defended Trump’s authority to deploy federal forces when local officials “can’t do their jobs.”
“That is why President Trump has signed a Presidential Memorandum deploying 2,000 National Guardsmen to address the lawlessness that has been allowed to fester,” Leavitt said in response to earlier criticism of the Los Angeles deployment.
“President Trump’s unilateral actions in Washington, D.C., do nothing to keep Americans safe, and show an alarming contempt for our laws and democratic norms,” the New Mexico officials concluded.