❓WHAT HAPPENED: President Donald J. Trump announced that federal prosecutors trying homicide cases in the District of Columbia will now be directed to seek the death penalty against those convicted.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: President Trump, federal prosecutors, and murderers in Washington, D.C.
📍WHEN & WHERE: The announcement was made during a Cabinet meeting at the White House on August 26, 2025.
💬KEY QUOTE: “If somebody kills somebody in the capital—Washington, D.C.—we’re going to be seeking the death penalty.” — President Trump
🎯IMPACT: The new policy aims to serve as a further deterrent to violent crime in D.C.
President Donald J. Trump announced that federal prosecutors trying homicide cases in the District of Columbia will now be directed to seek the death penalty against those convicted. The America First leader revealed the federal prosecutorial policy change during a Cabinet Meeting at the White House on Tuesday afternoon.
“Anybody murders someone in the capital, capital punishment,” President Trump said. “Capital, capital punishment. If somebody kills somebody in the capital—Washington, D.C.—we’re going to be seeking the death penalty. And that’s a very strong preventative, and everybody that’s heard it agrees with it.”
“We have no choice. So in D.C., in Washington—states are going to have to make their own decision—but if somebody kills somebody… it is the death penalty,” he added.
🚨 @POTUS: “If somebody kills somebody in the capital — Washington, D.C. — we’re going to be seeking the death penalty.” pic.twitter.com/Aa47sLzDbk
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) August 26, 2025
While the federal death penalty can be sought in all 50 U.S. states and territories, its application has been exceedingly rare. Currently, there are only three prisoners on federal death row after former President Joe Biden commuted the death sentences of 37 men last December.
Notably, of the 16 federal prisoners executed since 2001, 13 of them were executed during President Trump’s first term between July 2020 and January 2021.
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