Trump to patrol DC streets with police and military
'I'm going to be going out tonight, I think, with the police and with the military, of course. So we're going to do a job,' Trump told conservative radio host Todd Starnes on his show. 'The National Guard is great. They've done a fantastic job.'
A White House official told The Hill that details of what Trump would be doing were forthcoming.
The Trump administration earlier this month began surging federal law enforcement across parts of the District to crack down on what the White House said was an unacceptable level of crime, despite statistics showing violent crime has declined in the city.
Last week, Trump took federal control of the Metropolitan Police Department and deployed hundreds of National Guard troops across the city to further the crack down on crime.
White House officials said earlier Thursday that there had been more than 600 total arrests made since federal officers were deployed around the city on Aug. 7. Of those, 251 were arrests of immigrants in the country illegally, the White House said.
Critics of Trump's aggressive crackdown across D.C. have pointed to statistics that show the city's violent crime rate fell in 2024 and is down again 2025. And some local residents have expressed their disapproval, protesting federal officers stationed in their neighborhoods.
A Washington Post-Schar School poll of 604 D.C. residents published Wednesday found 65 percent do not think Trump's actions will make the city safer. Roughly 80 percent of residents said they opposed Trump's executive order to federalize the city's police department.
But White House officials have been adamant that statistics do not accurately capture the state of crime and decay in the nation's capital.
Vice President Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller met with National Guard troops at Union Station on Wednesday to thank them for their work. The officials were greeted with protests at the transportation hub, which Miller mocked.
'We're going to ignore these stupid white hippies that all need to go home and take a nap because they're all over 90 years old,' he said. 'And we're going to get back to the business of protecting the American people and the citizens of Washington, D.C.'
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CNN
a few seconds ago
- CNN
Rubio doubles down on Trump pledge to back Ukraine security guarantees but says Europe must lead
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told European counterparts Thursday the US will participate in post-war security guarantees for Ukraine but that the Trump administration believes Europe should take the lead, according to a European diplomat familiar with the call. During a call with European national security advisers, Rubio, who is also President Donald Trump's acting national security adviser, did not provide details on specific security guarantees to which the US might commit, the diplomat said. But the call, which an administration official confirmed had occurred, adds momentum at a critical time when Europe is eager for continued engagement from the Trump administration, the diplomat said. As Trump has pushed for Ukraine and Russia to reach a peace agreement, negotiations among allies over how to ensure Moscow won't attack again in the future have accelerated. The US has indicated it is open to playing a limited role in providing security guarantees to Ukraine if a peace deal is reached with Russia, which could potentially see US pilots flying manned air support missions, sources familiar with discussions with allies this week told CNN. Trump has ruled out deploying US troops on the ground, but the US and its allies are combing through a range of other options, the sources said. The Europeans have told US officials that one role they'd like to see the US play is continuing to provide military intelligence and surveillance, said the European diplomat familiar with Rubio's call on Thursday. The official added that the issue was raised to Trump directly on Monday, when several European leaders visited the White House, and the president appeared receptive but did not make an explicit commitment. Thursday's call included national security advisers from NATO, the European Union, France, the UK, Finland, Italy and Germany, they said. A meeting took place on Wednesday between US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine, commander of US European Command and NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, and defense chiefs from key European nations. A broader NATO defense chiefs meeting was also held Wednesday, led by Chair of the NATO Military Committee, Adm. Giuseppe Cavo Dragone. The military meetings followed discussions at the White House on Monday between Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and several other key European allies. During the meetings, Trump said the US would be involved in Ukraine's security — but made clear that Europe would be the 'first line of defense.' An official familiar with Wednesday's meetings said the declaration of US involvement 'changed everything' for the planning around Ukraine's security guarantees. Military planners from the 'Coalition of the Willing' — a key group of Ukrainian allies — had already been discussing security for Ukraine, but those discussions 'had only been able to get so far, because a big unknown to them was, what was the US position?' the official said. Still, the official said allies 'recognize certainly that despite the US' involvement, which they acknowledge is still yet to be determined in concrete terms, they have an inherent responsibility for the security of Europe.' The meetings on Wednesday came in the wake of multiple significant developments in the war between Ukraine and Russia, after Trump met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska last week and then hosted Zelensky and several other key European leaders at the White House on Monday. The topic of security guarantees for Ukraine was at the center of the meetings on Monday, as Trump said the details would be further worked out with European leaders. Sitting next to Zelensky in the Oval Office, Trump said while Europe would be the first line of defense for Ukraine, 'We're going to help them out also. We'll be involved.' And while he initially left the door open on putting US boots on the ground in Ukraine, he ruled it out the following day during a phone interview with Fox News but suggested the US might consider providing air support. Thus far, that has been the only thing definitively ruled out, the official familiar with Wednesday's meetings told CNN. The options discussed among military leaders and planners this week ranged from US air support — unmanned and manned aircraft — to what countries are willing to put boots on the ground in Ukraine, what NATO bases would be used, and more. A second source briefed on the meeting also said possible air support has been a primary topic, and that while there is some consternation within the Trump administration about committing US pilots to flying manned air support missions over Ukraine, there is more openness to flying unmanned air support missions. US pilots could also be called upon to conduct surveillance flights over Ukraine, providing high-resolution imagery of the front line and troop movements, as part of what would be considered an intermediate option that stops short of committing American fighter jets to fly policing missions, two of the sources familiar with ongoing discussions about security guarantees said. Ben Jensen, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told CNN that even unmanned aircraft missions would be a significant step because it could 'keep the question of doubt in Russia's mind about how much the US will commit.' But unmanned drones are too slow to conduct what are known as 'scramble' missions, a third source familiar with the discussions noted, meaning it would likely fall to other nations to provide additional air assets if that is as far as the US is willing to go. The official familiar with the Wednesday meetings told CNN that some have incorrectly assumed that Trump's comments saying the US would not put boots on the ground in Ukraine also definitively mean there won't be US pilots flying overhead. 'And what I would say is, well, the president didn't say that,' they said. Zelensky said Wednesday that Kyiv expects to have an understanding within the next two weeks of exactly what kind of security guarantees allies are prepared to provide in the event of a peace deal. Thirty countries have pledged willingness to provide security guarantees, he said, but not all of those commitments will be military aid. Some countries have committed to just financial support or imposing economic sanctions on Moscow in the event of another Russian attack, Zelensky said. 'We do not know how many countries are ready for 'boots on the ground,'' Zelensky told journalists at a briefing. 'Some may contribute boots on the ground. Some are ready to provide air defense. Some will cover the skies or conduct aerial patrols for a certain period, using the appropriate aircraft in the required numbers.' Zelensky said that Trump saying the US would participate in security guarantees reassured other countries who had previously been on the fence. He pointed to Turkey as a country that's now on board to help with security on the Black Sea. 'Without the coordination of security guarantees for Ukraine by the United States of America, there was some uncertainty among our European colleagues,' Zelensky said. Some allies have already messaged what they intend to provide. The UK, France and Germany said in a joint statement on Wednesday that they are prepared to plan an active role, including deploying a 'reassurance force' once fighting has stopped. UK Defense Secretary John Healey said again Wednesday that the UK is ready to put boots on the ground in Ukraine. But while US officials have claimed that their Russian counterparts signaled their willingness to accept security guarantees for Ukraine during Trump's meeting with Putin in Alaska last week, Moscow has since publicly dismissed any security guarantees that Russia wouldn't also have a veto over – a condition that would be unacceptable to Kyiv. 'Moscow won't agree with collective security guarantees negotiated without Russia,' Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Wednesday, adding that Moscow would also want ally China to be part of the security agreement. 'I am confident that in the West — first and foremost in the United States — they perfectly understand that discussing the issue of security without the Russian Federation is a utopia, a road to nowhere,' Lavrov added.
CBS News
a few seconds ago
- CBS News
Could Chicago museums be affected by Trump administration review of Smithsonian museums?
The Trump administration has started outlining some of the Smithsonian Institution's art, information, and imagery that it has deemed "too woke," as the administration calls for a review of the federal museum system. Could these reviews affect Chicago area institutions? The review was announced in a letter Tuesday to Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution Lonnie Bunch, signed by Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought and two other White House aides. It comes after President Trump signed an executive order in March pushing for changes at the Smithsonian, including the removal of "improper ideology." The review is timed with next year's celebrations of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the letter said. "This initiative aims to ensure alignment with the President's directive to celebrate American exceptionalism, remove divisive or partisan narratives, and restore confidence in our shared cultural institutions," the White House's letter read. The administration's review will initially focus on eight museums, including the National Museum of African American History and Culture — which was highlighted in Mr. Trump's executive order for allegedly featuring "divisive, race-centered ideology" — as well as the Air and Space Museum, the Museum of American History and the National Portrait Gallery, among others. Additional museums will be reviewed in a future phase. The Trump administration outlined several items it finds objectionable in their recent Smithsonian review — including artistic renderings of border crossings, a stop-motion animation of Dr. Anthony Fauci, and programming highlighting Latinos and Latinas with disabilities. Among the Chicago Smithsonian affiliates is the DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center — the nation's oldest independent Black history museum. DuSable said in part: "Museums are keepers of history, and it is important that they reflect the truth of our past, no matter how painful or triumphant…. As a museum we have a responsibility to preserve the full record of human experience — both solemn moments and inspiring achievements — so that future generations can find their way forward." President Trump this week said on social media, "The Smithsonian is out of control," and added that it focuses on "how horrible our country is, how bad slavery was, and how unaccomplished the downtrodden have been." "It's obvious that what he is attempting to do is create an ethnocentric country that is solely for the benefit of white heterosexual males who are wealthy," said educator and author Ernest Crim III. Crim uses social media to spread knowledge of Black history, and said he has relied on museums, including the DuSable, in his teaching. "You know, I could talk about this stuff all the time, but until they can see the actual signs, or the actual doors that show the Black Panthers having their doors shot down, or to see actual chains, or to see what the Middle Passage could have been like, it doesn't really hit home," Crim said. In addition to the DuSable Museum, Chicago area Smithsonian Affiliates include the Schingoethe Center at Aurora University, which focuses on Native American history; the Adler Planetarium; and the Illinois Lizzadro Museum of Lapidary Art in Oak Brook, which features gemstone works. Lizzadro staff said they are "following updates like everyone else." Joe Walsh contributed to this report.
Fox News
17 minutes ago
- Fox News
Rubio pauses worker visas for truck drivers after deadly Florida crash involving illegal immigrant kills 3
Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday said "effective immediately" he would pause the issuance of worker visas for commercial drivers after an illegal immigrant truck driver allegedly caused a crash that killed three people in Florida. In a post on X, Rubio cited public safety for the move. "The increasing number of foreign drivers operating large tractor-trailer trucks on U.S. roads is endangering American lives and undercutting the livelihoods of American truckers," he wrote. Concerns about foreign workers driving commercial trucks began after Harjinder Singh, 28, who entered the U.S. illegally, was driving a commercial truck with a trailer on the Florida Turnpike in Fort Pierce when he allegedly attempted a U-turn in an unauthorized area. The turn resulted in the trailer jackknifing and colliding with a minivan, which left all three of the minivan's passengers dead, authorities said. Further scrutiny of Singh revealed that he didn't pass English and road tests before obtaining a commercial driver's license. He was granted a full-term commercial driver's license in Washington in July 2023, despite not being legally eligible. He was also given a limited-term commercial driver's license in California in 2024. California Gov. Gavin Newsom and officials with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have been in a heated war of words with the Trump administration over Singh. This week, Newsom's press office said on X that Singh obtained a work permit during President Donald Trump's first term. Tricia McLaughlin, the DHS assistant secretary for public affairs, responded, saying Singh was denied in September 2020, under Trump, but was granted one in June 2021, under the Biden administration. Singh has been extradited to Florida from California to face three counts of vehicular homicide.
