President Donald Trump on Tuesday reignited his threat for the federal government to “run” Washington, DC, after a former Department of Government Efficiency employee was assaulted in an attempted carjacking.
“I have to say that somebody from DOGE was very badly hurt … A young man who was beat up by a bunch of thugs in DC, and either they’re gonna straighten their act out in the terms of government and in terms of protection or we’re gonna have to federalize and run it the way it’s supposed to be run,” Trump told reporters Tuesday.
Edward Coristine, the 19-year-old former DOGE worker once known by the online moniker “Big Balls,” and another individual were assaulted in an attempted carjacking on Sunday, according to a DC Police Department incident report obtained by CNN affiliate WUSA.
Police saw a group of around 10 juveniles surround Coristine’s vehicle and assault him, the incident report said. When police exited their vehicle, the juveniles ran away.
Two 15-year-olds “were arrested and charged with Unarmed Carjacking,” according to DC police.
Coristine earlier this year was tapped to take part in a sweeping overhaul of the US government through DOGE, CNN previously reported, working as a “senior advisor” with access to various departments, including Homeland Security, FEMA and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Coristine joined the Social Security Administration earlier this summer to work on its website, an agency spokesperson told CNN in June.
“Crime in Washington, D.C., is totally out of control. Local ‘youths’ and gang members, some only 14, 15, and 16-years-old, are randomly attacking, mugging, maiming, and shooting innocent Citizens, at the same time knowing that they will be almost immediately released. They are not afraid of Law Enforcement because they know nothing ever happens to them, but it’s going to happen now!” Trump wrote Tuesday on Truth Social.
“The Law in D.C. must be changed to prosecute these ‘minors’ as adults, and lock them up for a long time, starting at age 14,” Trump said.
Trump continued: “If D.C. doesn’t get its act together, and quickly, we will have no choice but to take Federal control of the City, and run this City how it should be run, and put criminals on notice that they’re not going to get away with it anymore. Perhaps it should have been done a long time ago, then this incredible young man, and so many others, would not have had to go through the horrors of Violent Crime. If this continues, I am going to exert my powers, and FEDERALIZE this City.”
DC Mayor Muriel Bowser’s office declined to comment on Trump’s remarks when reached by CNN.
Billionaire Elon Musk – who previously led DOGE – joined in the president’s criticism, writing in a post on X, “It is time to federalize DC.”
Trump’s rekindled warning comes as Bowser, a leading figure in the Democratic resistance during the president’s first term, has treaded carefully through Trump’s second term. CNN previously reported Bowser has faced criticism from some local officials for her less defiant approach.
Bowser in March announced the removal of the Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington after Republicans in Congress threatened to withhold funding for the district if it kept the two-block mural intact. The mayor told CNN at the time, “We have bigger fish to fry,” citing the looming financial and existential crises her city suddenly faces under Trump.
Earlier this year, Trump said that the federal government should “take over” DC.
“I think that we should govern District of Columbia. It’s so important, the DC situation. I think that we should run it strong, run it with law and order. Make it absolutely, flawlessly beautiful. And I think we should take over Washington, DC,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One in February. “Make it safe. People are getting killed. People are being hurt. You have a great police department there, but somehow, they’re not utilized properly.”
In March, Trump signed an executive order establishing a “D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force,” aiming to ensure federal participation in a number of city issues, including maximum enforcement of federal immigration laws and beefing up federal and local law enforcement presence in certain areas.
The order aims to ensure that “all applicable quality of life, nuisance, and public-safety laws are strictly enforced,” including crimes involving assault, battery, larceny, graffiti, public intoxication and more.
