Trump is promising new steps to tackle homelessness and crime in Washington
Trump wrote in a social media post that he planned a White House news conference at 10 a.m. Monday to discuss his plans to make the District of Columbia "safer and more beautiful than it ever was before."
"The Homeless have to move out, IMMEDIATELY," Trump wrote Sunday. "We will give you places to stay, but FAR from the Capital. The Criminals, you don't have to move out. We're going to put you in jail where you belong."
Last week the Republican president directed federal law enforcement agencies to increase their presence in Washington for seven days, with the option "to extend as needed."
On Friday night, federal agencies including the Secret Service, the FBI and the U.S. Marshals Service assigned more than 120 officers and agents to assist in Washington.
Trump said last week that he was considering ways for the federal government to seize control of Washington, asserting that crime was "ridiculous" and the city was "unsafe," after the recent assault of a high-profile member of the Department of Government Efficiency.
The moves Trump said he was considering included bringing in the D.C. National Guard.
Mayor Muriel Bowser questioned the effectiveness of using the Guard to enforce city laws and said the federal government could be far more helpful by funding more prosecutors or filling the 15 vacancies on the D.C. Superior Court, some of which have been open for years.
Bowser cannot activate the National Guard herself, but she can submit a request to the Pentagon.
"I just think that's not the most efficient use of our Guard," she said Sunday on MSNBC's "The Weekend," acknowledging it is "the president's call about how to deploy the Guard."
Bowser was making her first public comments since Trump started posting about crime in Washington last week. She noted that violent crime in Washington has decreased since a rise in 2023. Trump's weekend posts depicted the district as "one of the most dangerous cities anywhere in the World."
For Bowser, "Any comparison to a war-torn country is hyperbolic and false."
Police statistics show homicides, robberies and burglaries are all down this year when compared with this time in 2024. Overall violent crime is down 26% compared with this time a year ago.
Trump offered no details in Truth Social posts over the weekend about possible new actions to address crime levels that he argues are dangerous for citizens, tourists and workers alike. The White House declined to offer additional details about Monday's announcement.
The police department and the mayor's office did not respond to questions about what Trump might do next.
The president criticized the district as full of "tents, squalor, filth, and Crime," and he seems to have been set off by the attack on Edward Coristine, among the most visible figures of the bureaucracy-cutting effort known as DOGE. Police arrested two 15-year-olds in the attempted carjacking and said they were looking for others.
"This has to be the best run place in the country, not the worst run place in the country," Trump said Wednesday.
The president called Bowser "a good person who has tried, but she has been given many chances."
Trump has repeatedly suggested that the rule of Washington could be returned to federal authorities. Doing so would require a repeal of the Home Rule Act of 1973 in Congress, a step Trump said lawyers are examining. It could face steep pushback.
Bowser acknowledged that the law allows the president to take more control over the city's police, but only if certain conditions are met.
"None of those conditions exist in our city right now," she said. "We are not experiencing a spike in crime. In fact, we're watching our crime numbers go down."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Mainichi
2 hours ago
- The Mainichi
No end in sight to plastic pollution crisis as treaty negotiations in Geneva fail
GENEVA (AP) -- Negotiations to reach a major treaty to end growing plastic pollution around the world fell apart on Friday, with delegates in Switzerland adjourning with no immediate plans to resume. The consequence of the failed talks is devastating, as it leaves no clear path for nations to collectively address the mountains of plastic that are filling landfills, clogging oceans and showing up in chunks on beaches and other public places. "Consensus is dead," Bjorn Beeler, international coordinator for the International Pollutants Elimination Network, upon adjournment. Every year, the world makes more than 400 million tons of new plastic, and that could grow by about 70% by 2040 without policy changes. About 100 countries want to limit production. Many have said it's also essential to address toxic chemicals used to make plastics. The final decision, or lack there of, underscored the influence of the United States and other oil-producing countries such as Saudi Arabia, which opposed any limit on the productions of plastics, made mostly from fuels like oil and gas. Nations had worked for 11 days at the United Nations office in Geneva. But they were deadlocked over whether the treaty should reduce exponential growth of plastic production and put global, legally binding controls on toxic chemicals used to make plastics. Environmentalists, waste pickers and Indigenous leaders and many business executives traveled to the talks to make their voices heard. Indigenous leaders sought a treaty that recognizes their rights and knowledge. The Youth Plastic Action Network was the only organization that spoke at the closing meeting Friday. Comments from observers were cut off at the request of the U.S. and Kuwait after 24 hours of meetings and negotiating. After the adjournment, some delegates tried to put a good face on the negotiations and expressed hope for future talks. Delegates did agree they would meet again at some point in the future. Inger Andersen, executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme, said despite challenges, despite the disappointment, "we have to accept that significant progress was made." This process won't stop, she said, but it's too soon to say how long it will take to get a treaty now. A repeat of last year's failure The negotiations were supposed to be the last round and produce the first legally binding treaty on plastic pollution, including in the oceans. But just like at the meeting in South Korea last year, the talks ended with no agreement. Luis Vayas Valdivieso, the chair of the negotiating committee, wrote and presented two drafts of treaty text in Geneva based on the views expressed by the nations. The representatives from 184 countries did not agree to use either one as the basis for their negotiations. Valdivieso said Friday morning as the delegates reconvened in the assembly hall that no further action was being proposed at this stage on the latest draft. After a three-hour meeting, he banged a gavel made of recycled plastic bottle tops from a Nairobi landfill, one of many symbols of the plastic problem that were visible during the talks. A 'deeply disappointing' outcome European Commissioner Jessika Roswall said the European Union and its member states had higher expectations for this meeting and while the draft falls short on their demands, it's a good basis for another negotiating session. "The Earth is not ours only. We are stewards for those who come after us. Let us fulfill that duty," she said. Representatives of Norway, Australia, Tuvalu and others nations said they were "deeply disappointed" to be leaving Geneva without a treaty. Madagascar's representative said the world is "expecting action, not reports from us." China's delegation said the fight against plastic pollution is a long marathon and that this temporary setback is a new starting point to forge consensus. For their part, representatives from plastics industry, heavily criticized in recent years, called for nations to compromise more to get a deal. The Global Partners for Plastics Circularity said governments must move past entrenched positions. For any proposal to make it into the treaty, every nation must agree. India, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Kuwait, Vietnam and others have said that consensus is vital to an effective treaty. Some countries want to change the process so decisions may be made by a vote if necessary. Graham Forbes, head of the Greenpeace delegation in Geneva, urged delegates in that direction. "We are going in circles. We cannot continue to do the same thing and expect a different result," he said as Friday's meeting ended. Red lines that were not surmountable The biggest issue of the talks has been whether the treaty should impose caps on producing new plastic or focus instead on things like better design, recycling and reuse. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the U.S. opposed cutting plastic production or banning chemical additives in the treaty. The U.S. supported provisions to improve waste collection and management, improve product design and drive recycling, reuse and other efforts to cut the plastic dumped into the environment. Saudi Arabia said both drafts lacked balance, and Saudi and Kuwaiti negotiators said the latest proposal gave more weight to the views of other nations. That draft, released early Friday, did not include a limit on plastic production, but recognized that current levels of production and consumption are "unsustainable" and global action is needed. New language had been added to say these levels exceeded current waste management capacities and are projected to increase further, "thereby necessitating a coordinated global response to halt and reverse such trends." The objective of the treaty was revamped to state that the accord would be based on a comprehensive approach that addresses the full lifecycle of plastics. It talked about reducing plastic products containing "a chemical or chemicals of concern to human health or the environment," as well as reducing of single-use or short-lived plastic products. It was a much better, more ambitious text, though not perfect. Each country came to Geneva with a lot of "red lines," said Magnus Heunicke, the Danish environment minister. Denmark holds the rotating presidency of the Council of Europe. "To be very clear, a compromise means that we have to bend our red lines," he said.
The Mainichi
2 hours ago
- The Mainichi
Trump administration agrees to keep DC police chief in place, but with immigration enforcement order
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Trump administration on Friday reversed course and agreed to leave the Washington, D.C., police chief in control of the department, while Attorney General Pam Bondi, in a new memo, directed the District's police to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement regardless of any city law. The order from Bondi came after officials in the nation's capital sued Friday to block President Donald Trump's takeover of the Washington police. The night before, his administration had escalated its intervention into the city's law enforcement by naming a federal official as the new emergency head of the department, essentially placing the police force under the full control of the federal government. The attorney general's new order represents a partial retreat for the Trump administration in the face of intense skepticism from a judge over the legality of Bondi's earlier directive. But Bondi also signaled the administration would continue to pressure D.C. leaders to help federal authorities aggressively pursue immigrants in the country illegally, despite city laws on the books that limit cooperation between police and immigration authorities. In a social media post Friday evening, Bondi criticized D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb, saying he "continues to oppose our efforts to improve public safety." But she added, "We remain committed to working closely with Mayor Bowser." Mayor Muriel Bowser's office said late Friday that it was still evaluating how it can comply with the new Bondi order on immigration enforcement operations. The police department already eased some restrictions on cooperating with federal officials facilitating Trump's mass-deportation campaign but reaffirmed that it would follow the district's sanctuary city laws. In a letter sent Friday night to D.C. citizens, Bowser wrote: "It has been an unsettling and unprecedented week in our city. Over the course of a week, the surge in federal law enforcement across D.C. has created waves of anxiety." She added that "our limited self-government has never faced the type of test we are facing right now," but added that if Washingtonians stick together, "we will show the entire nation what it looks like to fight for American democracy -- even when we don't have full access to it." The legal battle was the latest evidence of the escalating tensions in a mostly Democratic city that now has its police department largely under the control of the Republican president's administration. Trump's takeover is historic, yet it had played out with a slow ramp-up in federal law enforcement officials and National Guard troops to start the week. As the weekend approached, though, signs across the city -- from the streets to the legal system -- suggested a deepening crisis over who controls the city's immigration and policing policies, the district's right to govern itself and daily life for the millions of people who live and work in the metro area. A push for compromise The two sides sparred in court for hours Friday before U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes, who is overseeing the district's lawsuit. She indicated the law likely doesn't grant the Trump administration power to fully take over city police, but it probably does give the president more power than the city might like. "The way I read the statute, the president can ask, the mayor must provide, but the president can't control," said Reyes, who was nominated to the bench by Democratic President Joe Biden. The judge pushed the two sides to make a compromise. An attorney for the Trump administration, Yaakov Roth, said the move to sideline Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela Smith came after an immigration order that still held back some aid to federal authorities. He argued that the president has broad authority to determine what kind of help police in Washington must provide. The police takeover is the latest move by Trump to test the limits of his legal authorities to carry out his agenda, relying on obscure statutes and a supposed state of emergency to bolster his tough-on-crime message and his plans to speed up the mass deportation of people in the United States illegally. It also marks one of the most sweeping assertions of federal authority over a local government in modern times. While Washington has grappled with spikes in violence and visible homelessness, the city's homicide rate ranks below those of several other major U.S. cities, and the capital is not in the throes of the public safety collapse the Trump administration has portrayed. The president has more power over the nation's capital than other cities, but D.C. has elected its own mayor and city council since the Home Rule Act was signed in 1973. Trump is the first president to exert control over the city's police force since it was passed. The law limits that control to 30 days without congressional approval, though Trump has suggested he'd seek to extend it. Chief had agreed to share immigration information Bondi's Thursday night directive to place the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Terry Cole, in charge of the police department came even after Smith had told MPD officers hours earlier to share information with immigration agencies regarding people not in custody, such as someone involved in a traffic stop or checkpoint. The Justice Department said Bondi disagreed with the police chief's instructions because they allowed for continued practice of "sanctuary policies," which generally limit cooperation by local law enforcement with federal immigration officers. Meanwhile, advocates in Washington were trying to advise immigrants on how to respond. Anusce Sanai, associate legal director for the Washington-based immigrant nonprofit Ayuda, said they're still parsing the legal aspects of the policies. "Even with the most anti-immigrant administration, we would always tell our clients that they must call the police, that they should call the police," Sanai said. "But now we find ourselves that we have to be very careful on what we advise." Amy Fischer, an organizer with Migrant Solidarity Mutual Aid, said that before the federal takeover, most of what they had seen in the nation's capital was Immigration and Customs Enforcement targeting specific individuals. But since last Friday night they've seen a "really significant change," she said, with ICE and federal officers doing roving patrols around the city. She said a hotline set up by immigration advocates to report ICE activity "is receiving calls almost off the hook." ICE said in a post on X that their teams had arrested "several" people in Washington Friday. A video posted on X showed two uniformed personnel putting handcuffs on someone while standing outside a white transport van. Residents are seeing a significant show of force A population already tense from days of ramp-up has begun seeing more significant shows of force across the city. National Guard troops watched over some of the world's most renowned landmarks, and Humvees took position in front of the busy main train station. Volunteers helped homeless people leave long-standing encampments -- to where was often unclear. Friday night along the district's U Street, a popular nightlife corridor, an Associated Press photographer saw officers from the FBI, the DEA, the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Park Police, U.S. Marshals and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Nikkei Asia
3 hours ago
- Nikkei Asia
Trump says no imminent plans to penalize China for buying Russian oil
A vessel owned by Russia's leading tanker group, Sovcomflot, transits through Turkey in April 2024. China and India are the top two buyers of Russian oil. © Reuters August 16, 2025 13:37 JST WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday he did not immediately need to consider retaliatory tariffs on countries such as China for buying Russian oil but might have to "in two or three weeks." Trump has threatened sanctions on Moscow and secondary sanctions on countries that buy its oil if no moves are made to end the war in Ukraine. China and India are the top two buyers of Russian oil. The president last week imposed an additional 25% tariff on Indian goods, citing its continued imports of Russian oil. However, Trump has not taken similar action against China. He was asked by Fox News' Sean Hannity if he was now considering such action against Beijing after he and Russian President Vladimir Putin failed to produce an agreement to resolve or pause Moscow's war in Ukraine. "Well, because of what happened today, I think I don't have to think about that," Trump said after his summit with Putin in Alaska. "Now, I may have to think about it in two weeks or three weeks or something, but we don't have to think about that right now. I think, you know, the meeting went very well." Chinese President Xi Jinping's slowing economy will suffer if Trump follows through on a promise to ramp up Russia-related sanctions and tariffs. Xi and Trump are working on a trade deal that could lower tensions -- and import taxes -- between the world's two biggest economies. But China could be the biggest remaining target, outside of Russia, if Trump ramps up punitive measures.
