David Hogg's bid to change the Democratic Party is off to a slow start
In today's edition … A look at David Hogg's impact on the Democratic Party … What Congress has gotten done this year, and what is left to do … A view of the Democratic Party from a heartland mayor … but first …
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Fox News
4 hours ago
- Fox News
Eric Swalwell rejects Michelle Obama's 'when they go low, we go high' message, vows to 'bury' Republicans
Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., dismissed former First Lady Michelle Obama's famous "when they go low, we go high" mantra on Saturday, instead threatening to "bury" Republicans "below the Capitol" during a redistricting fight. On "CNN Newsroom," host Omar Jimenez brought up Obama's old mantra after asking the congressman whether there were concerns that "fighting fire with fire" in redrawing congressional maps could backfire on the Democratic Party. "No, when they go low, we're going to bury them below the Capitol," Swalwell said. "That's what we're going to do, because this is about protecting democracy. And right now, as you see, D.C. has been militarized, and we were weak as Democrats." Swalwell called recent efforts by Texas Republicans to redraw the state's congressional districts a "grab for power" by President Donald Trump to make sure Democrats lose in the upcoming midterm elections. He argued that fighting fire with fire was the only way "to protect the most vulnerable" and defend democracy. "We have paid the price for our weakness in the past, and we can't be so weak next time we have power," Swalwell said. "Gavin Newsom is making Donald Trump react to him with the lawsuits with this new map to match what's happening in Texas. And the way I see it is, either we're on our heels, and the most vulnerable are on their heels reacting to Donald Trump, or he's on his heels reacting to us." Newsom has proposed a controversial initiative that would allow for mid-decade redistricting, aiming to eliminate five Republican-held seats in response to GOP-led map changes in Texas. However, such changes are currently prohibited by the California state constitution, which mandates nonpartisan redistricting through an independent commission. Newsom and California Democrats are pushing for a special election later this year to obtain voter approval to bypass the constitution. Swalwell didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. Swalwell is the latest in a long line of Democrats who have appeared to abandon the "when they go low, we go high" mantra in favor of harsher and sometimes violent rhetoric. Michelle Obama also amended the phrase in a 2020 DNC speech. "Let's be clear: going high does not mean putting on a smile and saying nice things when confronted by viciousness and cruelty," Obama said in 2020. "Going high means taking the harder path. It means scraping and clawing our way to that mountain top. Going high means standing fierce against hatred while remembering that we are one nation under God, and if we want to survive, we've got to find a way to live together and work together across our differences."
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
GOP relishes forcing Dem votes on extending Trump DC police power
Republicans are licking their chops at the prospect that Senate Democrats will vote to block an extension of President Trump's federalization of the Washington, D.C., police force, relishing a chance to tag their opponents as soft on crime. Democrats have been angry over Trump's move, which aligns with what they see as authoritarian impulses from the president. Democrats also widely back the Home Rule Act, which allows D.C.'s local government a form of self-rule. But voting against an extension will definitely lead to attacks by Trump and other Republicans that Democrats are looking away from the problem of crime in cities — which are generally led by Democratic mayors. 'I am slack-jawed at how Democrats are sprinting into another trap set by Trump. This is so clear and yet they can't help themselves,' said Matt Gorman, a GOP strategist. 'Democrats love to quote studies and charts and academics to tell people they're not feeling what they're feeling and Republicans are contrasting that with action, and action is going to win every time.' Democrats don't appear to be all that worried about walking into a trap by voting against extending Trump's power over the D.C. police. 'No f‑‑‑ing way,' Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in an interview Wednesday when asked about an extension. 'We'll fight him tooth and nail. … He needs to get Congress to approve it, and not only are we not going to approve it, but there are some Republicans who don't like it either,' Schumer said. Republicans would need at least seven Democrats in the Senate to go along with the vote for the power to be extended. Whether the measure to extend passes or fails, plenty of Republicans are eager for the vote, believing it will backfire on Democrats. But Democrats say there are a number of reasons the vote won't be that hard for their side. 'I don't think it's that hard of an issue — as long as you start by saying, 'Crime is bad and we need to do more to stop crime,'' said Andrew Mamo, a Democratic operative. 'The smart Democrats out there are establishing credibility by starting there and then getting into [how] this is the wrong way to do it,' Mamo said. 'We shouldn't have the National Guard randomly stopping people in the streets. We should be funding our police departments and doing all the investments we know we need to do to keep communities safe.' 'The trap is when you don't start by saying crime is bad, and you try to say, 'Actually, there's no problems here. Actually, people aren't worried,' and you do the same kind of explain-y stuff we failed out on the economy last cycle,' Mamo continued. 'Then you can tie yourself into knots. But it shouldn't be that hard for any Democrat to just say, 'Crime is bad and we need to do more to stop crime.'' Others say most voters just aren't that focused on votes pertaining to local issues in Washington, D.C. 'Most Americans across the country do not feel any connection to the nation's capital — most will never visit, and many don't remember that beyond being the seat of government, more than a half-million citizens call the District home,' said John LaBombard, a Democratic operative at Rokk Solutions and an ex-aide to former Sens. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) and Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.). 'That dynamic prevents many everyday Americans from getting worked up about a federal takeover of policing in D.C. — but will probably also help shield lawmakers from criticism who vote against extended federal control.' Polling suggests a large swath of D.C. residents — an overwhelmingly Democratic area — believe crime is an extremely or very serious problem. According to a Washington Post-Schar School poll taken in May, 50 percent of respondents viewed crime as an extremely or very serious problem, down from 65 percent who did so two years ago when homicides and violent crimes were at their recent apex. 'Anyone who thinks crime isn't a problem in D.C. is burying their head in the sand and suffers from serious Trump derangement syndrome,' said Jesse Hunt, a GOP operative who previously served as communications director for the National Republican Senatorial Committee. 'The major problem that Democrats have is that … the crime, the carjackings, the muggings, the threats of violence, the assaults — while maybe not murder — is still spilling into professional areas. Lets be real, no one wants to pay an arm and a leg to go to Nats Park to watch a game when they're concerned or not themselves and their children are going to be the victims of stray bullets at some metro stop nearby.' Schumer has argued that Trump's push to take over policing in Washington, D.C., is intended to distract from calls to release files related to Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier who died awaiting federal trial on sex trafficking charges. 'This is, again, just a distraction. He's afraid of Epstein,' Schumer continued. 'He's afraid of all that, and we are not going to give up on Epstein.' The issue of crime in D.C. has been a problem for Democrats in the past. Former President Biden two years ago blocked a crime bill the D.C. City Council was attempting to codify, citing concerns that it would scrap some mandatory minimum sentences, among other things. It led to criticisms that Biden was stepping on D.C. home rule. Trump on Wednesday said that he is seeking a 'long-term extension' of the federalization of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). He also argued that he can extend that time span via a national emergency declaration. 'But we expect to be before Congress very quickly. And again, we think the Democrats will not do anything to stop crime, but we think the Republicans will do it almost unanimously,' Trump told reporters at the Kennedy Center. 'So we're going to need a crime bill. That we're going to be putting in, and it's going to pertain initially to D.C. We're going to use it as a very positive example' 'You can't have 30 days,' he said. 'We're going to do this very quickly, but we're going to want extensions. I don't want to call a national emergency, but if I have to, I will.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Democrats introduce bill to block Trump DC police takeover
A band of Democratic lawmakers introduced legislation to thwart President Trump's takeover of the Washington, D.C., police department, arguing the White House is exceeding its authority. The resolution would terminate Trump's Monday order, something the lawmakers say comes as 'the President has concocted a false narrative around the city's crime rates' which have been declining for two years, while violent crime has reached a 30-year-low. 'Under the D.C. Home Rule Act, Congress has given the president the power only to direct the Mayor to make the Metropolitan Police Department available for a specific federal purpose but has given him no power simply to take over the Department. In any event, there is no federal emergency justifying such a takeover even if Congress sought to use its lawmaking power to effectuate it,' Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, said in a statement. 'Trump has made clear that his efforts in D.C., where 700,000 taxpaying American citizens lack the protections of statehood, are part of a broader plan to militarize and federalize the streets of cities around America whose citizens voted against him,' Raskin added, calling it a 'hostile takeover.' Trump also sent National Guard troops to the nation's capital, and tensions flared earlier in the week as officers set up checkpoints in the city. The Trump administration on Thursday escalated its takeover of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), with Attorney General Pam Bondi installing Drug Enforcement Administration Administrator Terry Cole as Washington's 'emergency police commissioner,' while rescinding policies that limited officers from taking policing actions purely for immigration enforcement purposes. 'President Trump's incursions against D.C. are among the most egregious attacks on D.C. home rule in decades,' Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) said. 'Our local police force, paid for by D.C. residents, should not be subject to federalization, an action that wouldn't be possible for any other police department in the country. No emergency exists in D.C. that the president did not create himself, and he is not using the D.C. police for federal purposes, as required by law.' The legislation was co-sponsored by House Oversight ranking member Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) but cannot be taken up during the August recess. Once lawmakers return, it's unlikely the GOP-controlled body would bring the legislation to the floor. Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) sponsored a companion bill in the Senate. The lawmakers argue Trump's police takeover is only the latest in a string of actions they say undermine effective governance of the city, including on crime, though D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser's (D) budget fully funded MPD. Earlier this year, Congress failed to include in its stopgap funding bill language that would allow D.C. to continue spending its local budget at fiscal 2025 levels — restricting $1 billion in city coffers. 'While Trump claims that federal control of D.C. is necessary to combat crime, the President's own actions are what is jeopardizing public safety in the District. He and his allies in Congress refuse to allow the District to access the $1 billion in locally-raised revenue that would have funded D.C. police, fire and emergency response services, and other public safety efforts,' the lawmakers said in a joint release. 'He fired and demoted dozens of D.C.'s most experienced career prosecutors, contributing to a larger backlog of criminal cases being held up in court and longer wait times for crime victims to obtain justice.' Van Hollen said Trump was absent when D.C. 'actually needed support from the National Guard' on Jan. 6. 'His current takeover is an abuse of power and nothing more than a raw power grab,' he said in a statement. 'The District of Columbia has made important progress on public safety in recent years, and can do more if Trump and House Republicans get the hell out of their way and stop blocking D.C. from accessing $1 billion of its own funds to strengthen policing and provide other public services.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Solve the daily Crossword
