U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi pays visit to NYPD Jessica Tisch, amid Trump National Guard threats

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi met Monday evening with NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch at police headquarters along with other police brass in a session described by one police official as positive and productive.

Tisch said in the meeting that with crime being under control in the city — the latest data indicated that serious felonies were down about 4.7% compared with 2024 — that the use of National Guard troops wasn’t needed, an NYPD spokesman said.

The issue of the use of National Guard troops to help crime fighting in major cities jumped to the poIitical fore in recent weeks after President Donald Trump deployed the Guard to assist police in Washington, D.C., where crime, while down in the last two years, has remained at high levels for such a small city.

The president indicated he might also do the same for Chicago, Baltimore and New York City. That drew the ire of New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, who said it was insulting to local law enforcement.

Bondi and Tisch discussed for a half hour the current New York City crime picture as well as various NYPD crime initiatives such as the deployment of quality-of-life teams and the use of drones, said the spokesman.

An email to the Justice Department seeking comment on Bondi's visit was not immediately returned late Monday.

The latest murder rate per 100,000 population in Washington, D.C., was running at a rate of about 14, compared with a rate of just over 2.0 for New York City.

The visit came on the day that Trump signed an executive order threatening to cut federal funding to jurisdictions with cashless bail policies. He also signed an executive order expanding the role of the National Guard in domestic law enforcement.

Bondi was in Brooklyn earlier for a news conference about the guilty plea Monday in federal court of Sinaloa cartel co-founder Ismael ”El Mayo” Zambada Garcia on narcotics charges. Garcia faces a life in prison when sentenced in January.

The meeting with Bondi included Chief of Department John Chell, Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny and deputy commissioners Rebecca Weiner and Michael Gerber, said a police official.

By Anthony M. DeStefano

tony.destefano@newsday.comtonynewsday

Anthony M. DeStefano has been a reporter for Newsday since 1986 and covers law enforcement, criminal justice and legal affairs from its New York City offices.