Washington, DC, Facing $20 Million Security Funding Cut despite Trump Complaints of Crime

The Federal Emergency Management Agency said in a notice posted last week that DC and surrounding areas would receive $20 million less this year from its urban security fund, reducing the funding to $25.2 million and amounting to a 44% year-on-year cut.

The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees FEMA, said on Friday it cut funds to DC and other cities to align with the “current threat landscape.”

The agency has "observed a shift from large-scale, coordinated attacks like 9/11 to simpler, small-scale assaults, heightening the vulnerability of soft targets and crowded spaces in urban areas,” it said.

FEMA also cut security money for Chicago, New York City, Los Angeles, Jersey City and San Francisco, but the reduction in DC was the largest for any urban area that received funding from the program last fiscal year.

DC Mayor Muriel Bowser’s office did not immediately respond to a Reuters email requesting comment on the funding cuts.

The federal security funding covers needs in the National Capital Region, an area that includes DC and nearby cities in Maryland and Virginia.

Regional officials in the past have used the money to pay for hazmat training, hiring officers and replacing fiber in their emergency communications network, according to a 2016 report from DC's Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency.

FEMA has $553.5 million to spend to help cities across the US shore up their security. Reuters could not immediately verify how much of the National Capital Region's total security budget comes from that program.

Trump directed federal police on Thursday to step up their presence in the capital, days after staffer Edward Coristine was attacked in DC It was the president's latest step toward taking over running the city that is the seat of the US government.

Violent crime in DC dropped 35% between 2023 and 2024, according to a December report from the US Attorney’s Office for DC.