On August 11, 2025, President Donald Trump declared that crime in Washington, D.C. was “out of control,” ordering Mayor Muriel Bowser—a Black woman and a well-known Democratic leader—to hand over control of the city’s police force. This move came despite the fact that, according to a still-available Justice Department press release, violent crime in the capital was at a 30-year low. Trump’s announcement marked the latest in a series of dramatic interventions targeting cities led by Black women, igniting a fierce national debate over democracy, race, and political power.
Trump’s attempt to federalize the Metropolitan Police Department didn’t stop at the mayor’s office. He also tried to oust the city’s police commissioner, another Black woman, and install a White man in her place. The plan unraveled only after Bowser’s administration threatened legal action, forcing the president to back down. Nevertheless, the Justice Department has since launched an investigation into the city’s crime statistics, questioning the data previously celebrated by federal authorities earlier this year.
“Mayor Bowser better get her act straight or she won’t be mayor very long because we’ll take it over with the federal government and run it like it’s supposed to be run,” Trump declared from the Oval Office, calling Washington, D.C. a “crime-infested rat hole,” as reported by Reuters. The rhetoric was sharp, but the numbers told a different story—and the city’s residents took note. A Washington Post/Schar School poll revealed that 79 percent of D.C. residents opposed Trump’s actions, underscoring the disconnect between the administration’s claims and local sentiment.
This showdown is not isolated. Earlier in the summer, Trump dispatched Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers and thousands of National Guard troops to Los Angeles in response to protests over his administration’s immigration raids. It was the first time in sixty years a president had sent such forces into a state without the governor’s request. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, a Black woman, confronted the federal agents directly in a high-profile standoff at a city park, making national headlines. Trump has since threatened similar interventions in Baltimore, Chicago, Oakland, and New York—all cities led by Democratic Black mayors, including Barbara Lee in Oakland.
The power struggle isn’t limited to mayors. In Texas, state Rep. Nicole Collier found herself held overnight in the state Capitol, describing the experience as being a “political prisoner.” Her offense? Standing in opposition to a Trump-ordered redistricting plan designed to shore up Republican control of the U.S. House in the upcoming midterms. Collier’s ordeal unfolded against the backdrop of a broader Republican push to reshape congressional districts, a move that has sparked outrage and legal challenges across the country.
House Speaker Mike Johnson lambasted California Governor Gavin Newsom’s own redistricting efforts as “a slap in the face to Californians who overwhelmingly support the California Citizens Redistricting Commission.” Yet, as reported by Daily Kos, Johnson and other GOP leaders remained silent on Texas’s aggressive gerrymandering, which could eliminate as many as five Democratic House seats. National Republican Congressional Committee Chair Richard Hudson vowed to fight California’s plan “in the courts and at the ballot box,” but when pressed about Texas, he shrugged, “It’s up to the states. I mean, I have nothing to do with it.”
Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz went a step further, accusing Democrats of orchestrating “the most egregious gerrymanders in the country,” despite data showing Republican-run states like Tennessee and Wisconsin are also guilty of extreme partisan mapmaking. Cruz even enlisted Elon Musk’s AI chatbot Grok to back up his claims, but the results didn’t quite support his narrative. Meanwhile, Republican Rep. Kevin Kiley—whose seat would be eliminated under California’s proposed map—complained that Democrats were trying to “permanently rig our elections by making [Newsom] Gerrymanderer-in-Chief.”
Political scientist Sydney Carr-Glenn of the College of the Holy Cross points out that these confrontations are unfolding at a time when Black women have reached unprecedented levels of political power. “We have seen Black women really ascending to these roles of political prominence in recent years in ways we haven’t seen before,” Carr-Glenn told The 19th. She cited not only big-city mayors like Bowser, Bass, and Lee, but also U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, and former Vice President Kamala Harris. Yet, Carr-Glenn noted, “It presents different challenges for Black women who are trying to really push back against what we’ve seen.”
The challenges are not just rhetorical. During the 2024 presidential campaign, Trump repeatedly attacked Harris with racially and gender-charged insults, questioning her identity and qualifications. His allies followed suit. Tucker Carlson, a prominent Trump supporter, likened Trump to a father who would “spank” Harris for being a “bad little girl.” Even tech billionaire Elon Musk’s super PAC aired an ad calling Harris a “big ol’ c-word,” before later claiming the “c” stood for communist.
Other Black women leaders have faced more than just verbal attacks. Rep. LaMonica McIver of New Jersey became the first sitting member of Congress to be prosecuted by the Trump administration, indicted on three counts of “forcibly impeding” law enforcement during a confrontation outside an ICE facility. She pleaded not guilty and argued that the prosecution amounted to “unconstitutional differential treatment,” especially given that similar charges from the January 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection were dropped against other defendants.
Back in Texas, Rep. Collier’s resistance to a GOP-mandated law enforcement escort led her to spend the night alone in the Capitol. She documented her experience—complete with a blue eye mask and a copy of “African Founders: How Enslaved People Expanded American Ideals”—and abruptly left a video call with U.S. Sen. Cory Booker and California Gov. Gavin Newsom after learning she faced a felony charge for speaking from the Capitol floor.
Trump’s antagonism toward Black women in positions of power appears to be part of a broader strategy. Wendy Via, co-founder and CEO of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism, told The 19th that the president’s actions follow “the authoritarian playbook” of targeting and demonizing marginalized communities. “When you can send in the troops and it’s a Black woman leader on the receiving end, then it’s not such a big deal to send in the troops—because they’re already the enemy, and they must not be capable of managing their city.”
Despite these obstacles, Black women mayors like Victoria Woodards of Tacoma, Washington, remain undeterred. “These are women who, despite all of the things that have been in their way or barriers that have come to them, they are still fighting the fight. They are still getting up every day and going to city hall,” Woodards said. “They are still doing the jobs, because that’s what’s required of us.”
As the political and legal battles continue, one thing is clear: the resilience and determination of Black women leaders are being tested as never before. Their responses—and the nation’s—will shape the future of American democracy in ways that are only just beginning to unfold.
