Latest news with #D.C.MetropolitanPoliceDepartment
Axios
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Axios
Not every Democrat is fighting Trump's D.C. police takeover
Some House Democrats are striking a much more careful tone on President Trump's D.C. crime crackdown than their party's leadership. Why it matters: Democrats' centrist wing has spent years rebutting claims by Republicans that the party is universally anti-law enforcement — and it's not about to let down its guard now. That could present complications for Democratic leadership if a measure to extend — or end — Trump's D.C. "crime emergency" comes up for a vote. It also complicates a message that has been largely centered on accusing Trump of overreacting to a non-existent crime problem. What they're saying: "I'm a believer in local control, which is why I've supported DC statehood. But under current law, the president does have authority to nationalize DC's local police under certain conditions," Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) said in a statement. He added: "If there is a disagreement between the president and leaders in DC about whether those conditions have been met, it will be up to the courts to decide." Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) told Axios in a statement: "I support efforts to reduce crime in Washington, D.C., and I stand with the members of law enforcement who are working to keep our communities safe." Cuellar said those efforts should be "closely coordinated with city officials, local police departments and federal law enforcement agencies" to avoid "unnecessary overlap." State of play: Trump announced Wednesday that he is federalizing the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department and deploying the D.C. National Guard to crack down on what he described as rampant crime in the city. Democrats have pushed back by noting that D.C. crime has fallen the last two years to a 30-year low, but Republicans have argued that the numbers are still far too high. A group of Democrats, led by House Judiciary Committee ranking member Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), introduced a joint resolution on Friday to end the "crime emergency" upon which Trump's crackdown is based. Zoom in: Other Democratic centrists are trying to re-orient the issue through an anti-Trump lens, with some noting Republicans shortchanged the city by $1 billion in a government funding bill this year. "City leaders should be all in on fighting crime. Trump should give them their money back to hire more cops," said Greg Landsman (D-Ohio). "Why did he steal $1 billion from the city when they need it for public safety and roads? So fight crime and his chaos. If it doesn't make the city safer, fight back. Safety first." Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), another swing-district member, said she opposes the National Guard deployment and warned their roundup of homeless people in D.C. may overcrowd local hospitals. The other side: "Trusting a Democrat to handle crime is like asking the fox to guard the henhouse," said Mike Marinella, a spokesperson for the National Republican Congressional Committee, in a statement to Axios.
Miami Herald
a day ago
- Politics
- Miami Herald
The 44 Percent: Tips for Black businesses and Trina at SeaWorld
Earlier this week, the Trump administration announced the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department would be under federal control and deployed the National Guard to the city, claiming it was crime-ridden and needed to be under control. The decision caught D.C. mayor Muriel Bowser off guard, who admitted there isn't much they could do. 'While this action today is unsettling and unprecedented, I can't say that, given some of the rhetoric of the past, that we're totally surprised,' Bowser said during a press conference. Some have said the decision to put more policing in a community already experiencing a downward trend in violent crime – the U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Columbia announced D.C.'s violent crime rate hit a 30-year low – is a reminder of the racist rhetoric projected onto Black communities, particularly those in urban areas. As Matt Brown with the Associated Press reported: 'The president foreshadowed that if these heavy-handed tactics take root here, they will be rolled out to other majority-Black and Brown cities, like Chicago, Oakland and Baltimore, across the country,' said Monica Hopkins, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union's D.C. chapter. 'We've seen before how federal control of the D.C. National Guard and police can lead to abuse, intimidation and civil rights violations — from military helicopters swooping over peaceful racial justice protesters in 2020 to the unchecked conduct of federal officers who remain shielded from full accountability,' Hopkins said. An examination of policing data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics by the Prison Policy Initiative shows Black people continue to experience racial disparities still with regard to arrests and use of force. So, suffice to say, there is imminent concern regarding the entry of the National Guard in Black communities. And while cities in Florida weren't named among Trump's list of places he's considering sending the National Guard (which coincidentally have Black mayors and large minority populations), it is worth wondering how long before Black communities in South Florida are even more of a target? 'Have to find a way:' Black leaders in Miami weigh defunded Overtown park's future An $82 million planned park in Overtown is out $60 million in federal funding after the Trump administration sent a letter rescinding the funds. While that is a hefty shortfall, communities leaders are searching for ways to find the money so the project can come to the historically Black neighborhood that experienced displacement in the 1960s due to the interstate being built in its community. 'Get your back office together': 6 tips from the Herald's Black business event Minority Business reporter Michael Butler held an event this week offering tips for budding and current Black business owners. The event, which featured, Miami-Dade Chamber of Commerce president and CEO G. Eric Knowles, marketing professional Suzan McDowell and Italian Vice founder Aamir Taylor. They offered tips on ensuring your paperwork is in order and how to market your business. Read a few tips from Butler's event in case you couldn't make it. These Black Miami neighborhoods may become a city. How does that work? Black communities in unincorporated Miami-Dade have begun the very early stages of determining if they should become a city. As residents contemplate what that means for them, I wrote an explainer on what that process looks like. Danielle 'Dee' Spencer, child star of '70s sitcom 'What's Happening!!,' dies at 60 Danielle Spencer, didn't miss a beat playing the younger, sarcastic and witty younger sister Deadra 'Dee' Thomas. But her personal story is one of perseverance: While a regular on the show, Spencer was in a severe car crash that killed her stepfather and left her in a coma for weeks. Spencer would eventually recover through physical therapy, and attended college while working on the show's spinoff 'What's Happening Now!!' and eventually became a veterinarian. She died Monday at 60 years young. We've seen the viral videos of Trina performing at SeaWorld. Our next thoughts were if it's going up like that, we need to be there. Well, VIBE Magazine reporter DeMicia Inman went to see the Baddest B*tch ) perform at SeaWorld San Diego's Summer Series. As Inman reported: Once the gates opened, attendees rushed to get a seat that commanded the best view of the 46-year-old hip-hop veteran. A sign displayed at the entrance warned that while the show was open to all ages, 'please be advised that this performance may include adult language and themes.' Posted in bold, bright lettering so it is not missed, Trina shared that even she was slightly taken aback by the booking. You'll have to read the rest to see how it turned out. Where does 'The 44 Percent' name come from? Click here to find out how Miami history influenced the newsletter's title.
Axios
4 days ago
- Politics
- Axios
D.C.'s new dismay
D.C.-area lawmakers are infuriated by President Trump's decision to temporarily take control of the district's police force. Trump "continues to search for distractions and provocations to divert attention from his outrageous refusal to release the Epstein files," Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) told us today. Why it matters: Trump is the first president to use the D.C. Home Rule Act for a temporary law enforcement takeover. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) called it a "historic assault on D.C. home rule." Rep. Glen Ivey (D-Md.) told us: "Suspicious minds might wonder if this is just kind of a first step towards a move on other parts of the government in D.C." Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) said: "Decisions about our nation's capital should be made in close consultation with local leaders ... Instead, the president again chose to bypass those conversations." Zoom in: Trump said he'll federalize the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department and send the National Guard into the city in a major escalation of his campaign to tackle crime.
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Business Standard
4 days ago
- Politics
- Business Standard
Trump seizes control of Washington DC police, deploys National Guard
President Donald Trump on Monday announced he is invoking the District of Columbia Home Rule Act to place the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department under direct federal control, a rare and controversial move. Trump also said he is also deploying National Guard troops to Washington, DC, to "re-establish law, order, and public safety," declaring that they will be allowed to do their job properly. 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 US 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 DC 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 DC 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 per cent 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 criticised 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.
Axios
4 days ago
- Politics
- Axios
D.C.-area Dems rage as Trump takes control of city's policing
Democratic lawmakers from the Washington, D.C. area are blasting President Trump for deploying the National Guard to the city and seizing control of its police force in an effort to crack down on crime. Why it matters: "Shocking stuff, even for Trump," Rep. Glenn Ivey (D-Md.) told Axios, adding, "Suspicious minds might wonder if this is just kind of a first step towards a move on other parts of the government in D.C." "At the end of the day, it's pretty telling. January 6th ... he doesn't want to call the National Guard. Here you get essentially a minor felony, and he's going to call the National Guard and federalize the D.C. police?" Ivey added. "It's ridiculous," he said. "It really is." State of play: Trump said Monday he will federalize the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department and send the National Guard into the city in a major escalation of his campaign to tackle local crime. Trump has spent days threatening such a takeover after a DOGE staffer was allegedly beaten during an early-morning carjacking. Trump, at a White House press conference, called the move a "historic action to rescue our nation's capital from crime, bloodshed, bedlam and squalor, and worse." What they're saying: Ivey and Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), who both represent the D.C. suburbs, pointed to data that suggests violent crime in the city has dropped in recent years. Raskin, in an interview with Axios, said Trump "continues to search for distractions and provocations to divert attention from his outrageous refusal to release the Epstein files." "Of course, the president has a major political bone to pick with the people of Washington, D.C., who have voted 10-to-1 against him at every opportunity. So this is one more chance to exact revenge," Raskin added. Between the lines: Trump said he will call up 800 D.C. National Guard troops and said he may send in the military as well "if needed." He said he is taking control of the D.C. Police under the Home Rule Act, which allows such a move in response to "special conditions of an emergency nature" for up to 30 days. Congress can, in theory, vote to terminate the emergency, but it is unlikely to do so with Republicans in charge of both chambers. The bottom line: "It's a very extreme exercise of these powers, raising all kinds of legal questions," said Raskin, who is the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee.
