India, Aug. 12 -- Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser called President Donald Trump's decision to send the National Guard to the capital "unsettling and unprecedented" as she moved to reassert city control over its police department, according to Politico.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Bowser said the police department's structure had not changed, pushing back on Trump's earlier claim of a federal takeover.

Trump said the capital "has been overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals, roving mobs of wild youth, drugged out maniacs and homeless people," and added that the police are now "allowed to do whatever the hell they want."

Bowser defended the department's work, pointing to a drop in crime since a spike in 2023, and dismis...