President Donald Trump said his administration is weighing whether to take control of the city of Washington, DC, to help combat crime, in a move that would represent a dramatic upheaval to the capital’s half-century of home rule.

“We could run DC. I mean, we’re looking at DC,” Trump said during a cabinet meeting Tuesday, where he was holding court at length in front of cameras. “We’re thinking about doing it, to be honest with you. We want a capital that’s run flawlessly.”

Trump said that his chief of staff, Susie Wiles, is in touch with the mayor of Washington, Muriel Bowser. He did not specify what he meant by the White House potentially running the city.

Bowser, a Democrat, has cultivated a closer relationship with Trump during his second term, visiting the White House to tout legislative efforts to ensure the city’s National Football League franchise can build a new stadium at the site of its former home near the Anacostia River and removing the Black Lives Matter plaza near the White House. Still, Trump has occasionally criticised the city over its crime rate and homeless encampments.