President Donald Trump told a cabinet meeting on Tuesday that his administration was considering taking over the governance of Washington DC to fight crime, in a move that could upend the capital city's half-century-old system of self-government. "We can manage Washington, and frankly we're looking at doing that," Mr. Trump said in an hours-long public meeting. "We need a capital that works perfectly." Mr. Trump revealed that Wiles, his chief of staff, was in communication with Bowser, the mayor of Washington, but did not specify what the White House "takeover" meant. The 1973 Home Rule Act gives Washington residents the right to elect local governments, but Congress retains the right to review local laws and budgets. District residents do not have voting representation in Congress.