Latest news with #D.C.SafeandBeautifulTaskForce
Boston Globe
28-03-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Trump endorses budget fix that would restore Washington, D.C., shortfall and urges House to pass it
Earlier this month, the House passed a federal government funding bill that would force the district's government to revert to its 2024 budget parameters, effectively cutting $1.1 billion from its budget midway through the financial year. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Bowser spearheaded an intense congressional lobbying campaign to prevent the change, saying it would result in immediate across-the-board cuts to staffing and programs, including teachers and police officers being laid off. Advertisement The Senate approved the funding bill with the cut but immediately followed up with a separate bill that would make the district's budget whole again. That measure now awaits House approval, and Bowser has delayed unveiling her 2026 budget plan until the issue is resolved. Despite indications that Trump supported the budget fix, he had not publicly weighed in until now. The House adjourns for its spring recess on April 11, and House Republican leadership has remained vague on the topic, with Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana saying Tuesday that it was too early to confirm when the House would vote on the budget fix. 'We're working through that,' Johnson said. Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana said earlier this week that the district's claim of financial ruin 'sounds overstated.' House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York said Thursday that the April 11 recess provides a natural deadline and a sense of urgency. 'It needs to happen before we go on the next district work period, which means it should occur either next week or the week after next,' Jeffries said. Advertisement Speaking before Trump's Friday posting, Jeffries said, 'apparently even Donald Trump himself has expressed support for the need to correct this egregious error.' Trump's endorsement of the budget fix comes amid a flurry of attention on the nation's capital, with the president issuing a series of statements and executive orders targeting crime, homelessness, immigration policy and gun control in the district. On Thursday night, Trump issued an executive order establishing the inter-departmental D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force, which he said would coordinate with local officials on such things as enforcing federal immigration law, including deporting people living illegally in the city, boosting the law enforcement presence and increasing the speed and lowering the cost of processing applications to carry concealed weapons. 'America's capital must be a place in which residents, commuters, and tourists feel safe at all hours, including on public transit. Its highways, boulevards, and parks should be clean, well-kept, and pleasant,' the order stated. 'Its monuments, museums, and buildings should reflect and inspire awe and appreciation for our Nation's strength, greatness, and heritage.' And despite the support for the budget fix, Trump's Friday morning posting also came with criticism of the nation's capital and a warning: 'We need to clean up our once beautiful Capital City, and make it beautiful again.' 'We will be TOUGH ON CRIME, like never before,' Trump wrote. 'I will work with the Mayor on this and, if it does not happen, will have no choice but to do it myself.'
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump targets DC in latest executive order, establishing 'Safe and Beautiful Task Force'
The Brief President Donald Trump has signed a new executive order to establish a 'D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force.' The order is meant to address several crime-related issues and establish a program to beautify the city. The White House says the task force will be made up of leaders with several key government agencies. WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump has signed a new executive order targeting D.C. The order establishes the "D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force," which reportedly aims to target crime, immigration and graffiti. According to the White House, the task force is largely being established to address several crime-related issues that the Trump administration has noted as a priority. The order will also create a beautification program for the District. What we know The Trump administration says the task force will be made up of leaders with several key government agencies, although those leaders were not named on the White House website. The areas of crime the task force is expected to address include demonstrations, vandalism and public intoxication in public spaces, immigration enforcement, strengthening pre-trial detention policies, expediting concealed-carry licenses for gun owners and cracking down on fare evasion and crime on the Metro. WMATA itself announced on Thursday that Metro Transit Police are working to ban serial offenders from its buses and trains. Metro officials say overall crime in the system is at a seven-year low but they have adopted a so-called "banning policy" that would apply to repeat offenders for sex crimes and assaults on customers and employees on trains, buses, at rail stations and in Metro parking lots. What we know Trump's order says the administration will also create a program to restore and clean graffiti from federal buildings, monuments, statues, memorials, parks, and roadways. It also directs the National Park Service to "rapidly" clear all homeless encampments and clean up graffiti on federal land. This is not the president's first hard hit on homeless camps in D.C. Just a few weeks ago, Trump threatened D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, saying "she must clean up all the unsightly homeless encampments in the city," or the federal government would step in. Those comments were also made after Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that he supports a "federal takeover" of D.C. The backstory In February, Trump said the federal government should "take over" D.C. He complained about crime and homelessness in the District and said that the federal government would "make it safe." "I think we should take over Washington, D.C.," Trump said. "I think that we should govern District of Columbia." Under the terms of the city's Home Rule authority, Congress already controls D.C. laws and has the power to overturn them but some congressional Republicans have sought to go further, eroding decades of the city's limited autonomy and putting it back under direct federal control, as it was at its founding. Trump has said he likes Bowser personally, but has continually complained about the city's governance. "They're not doing the job," Trump said. "Too much crime, too much — too many tents on the lawns — these magnificent lawns." In the order, Trump blamed the current conditions in the District on "failed policies," saying it "opened the door to disorder." Word-For-Word Here's exactly what the White House says in its March 27 fact sheet: MAKING WASHINGTON THE GREATEST CAPITAL CITY IN THE WORLD: Today, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order to make Washington, D.C. what it should be—the pride of every American to whom it belongs. The Executive Order establishes a task force, officially known as the D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force, that will be comprised of members of key government agencies. The task force is directed to:Surge law enforcement officers in public areas and strictly enforce quality-of-life laws in public areas like drug use, unpermitted demonstrations, vandalism, and public immigration enforcement to apprehend and deport dangerous illegal aliens, including monitoring D.C.'s cooperation with federal immigration D.C.'s forensic crime laboratory get assistance to the D.C. Police Department in recruiting and retaining officers and boosting dangerous criminals off the streets by strengthening pre-trial detention concealed carry licenses for law-abiding down on fare evasion and other crimes on the D.C. Metro system. Surge law enforcement officers in public areas and strictly enforce quality-of-life laws in public areas like drug use, unpermitted demonstrations, vandalism, and public intoxication. Maximize immigration enforcement to apprehend and deport dangerous illegal aliens, including monitoring D.C.'s cooperation with federal immigration authorities. Help D.C.'s forensic crime laboratory get accreditation. Provide assistance to the D.C. Police Department in recruiting and retaining officers and boosting capabilities. Keep dangerous criminals off the streets by strengthening pre-trial detention policies. Expedite concealed carry licenses for law-abiding citizens. Crack down on fare evasion and other crimes on the D.C. Metro system. The Executive Order will also create a program to beautify Washington, D.C.:This includes restoring and beautifying Federal buildings, monuments, statues, memorials, parks, and roadways, removing graffiti from commonly visited areas, and ensuring the cleanliness of public spaces and National Park Service will rapidly clear all homeless encampments and graffiti on federal lands. This includes restoring and beautifying Federal buildings, monuments, statues, memorials, parks, and roadways, removing graffiti from commonly visited areas, and ensuring the cleanliness of public spaces and parks. The National Park Service will rapidly clear all homeless encampments and graffiti on federal lands. AMERICANS DESERVE A BETTER CAPITAL THAN TODAY'S WASHINGTON: Our nation's capital, the only city that belongs to all of us, must be a symbol of pride for the American people and a safe location for public servants to do the people's work. Today, because of failed policies, it's not. Crime is near historic highs, yet D.C. police force numbers recently reached a half-century left is touting modest decreases in D.C. crime in 2024, but they still represent a massive increase from earlier rates. In 2023, violent crime rose by 39 percent. Property crime rose by 24 mirrors the spin they tried to put on "decreases" in the rate of inflation in recent years. Inflation is still up—and so is crime. And Americans are smart enough to example, 2023 saw the highest number of homicides in the District since D.C. Metro Police Department needs at least 4,000 officers, yet has fewer than 3,500. The left is touting modest decreases in D.C. crime in 2024, but they still represent a massive increase from earlier rates. In 2023, violent crime rose by 39 percent. Property crime rose by 24 percent. This mirrors the spin they tried to put on "decreases" in the rate of inflation in recent years. Inflation is still up—and so is crime. And Americans are smart enough to notice. For example, 2023 saw the highest number of homicides in the District since 1997. The D.C. Metro Police Department needs at least 4,000 officers, yet has fewer than 3,500. D.C.'s failed policies opened the door to disorder—and criminals noticed. Washington, DC:Abandoned traditional pre-trial detention and effectively replaced it with 'catch-and-release.'Decriminalized rioters run loose even if they vandalize property and assault police. Abandoned traditional pre-trial detention and effectively replaced it with 'catch-and-release.' Decriminalized marijuana. Lets rioters run loose even if they vandalize property and assault police. In 2022, the Biden U.S. Attorney for D.C. declined to prosecute 67% of arrested people who would have been tried in D.C. Superior Court. The vacuum in law enforcement has created an environment that facilitates crime and blight, encourages homeless and vagrancy encampments, and jeopardizes public safety. The D.C. crime lab remains partially unaccredited, creating a bottleneck for investigations. Federal authorities will assist with capacity so forensic work can resume and accreditation can be regained. PRESIDENT TRUMP KEEPS HIS PROMISES: President Trump is following through on his promise to restore Washington, D.C. to glory by making the nation's capital safe and beautiful once again. On President Trump's first return to Washington since leaving office in 2021, he lamented "the filth and the decay" that marred the nation's capital in his absence. President Trump later promised that his Administration would "take over the horribly run capital of our nation, Washington, D.C., and clean it up, renovate it, and rebuild our capital city so that it is no longer a nightmare of murder and crime, but rather it will become the most beautiful capital anywhere in the world." The Source White House, FOX 5 reporting
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
‘Americans deserve a better Capital than today's Washington': Trump executive order forms task force on DC crime, beautification
WASHINGTON () — President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday establishing a new task force to make D.C. 'safe and beautiful,' citing high crime and 'failed policies' in the District. The White House states the D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force aims to increase officers in public areas, 'maximize immigration enforcement,' assist the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) in recruiting and retention, combat fare evasion, expedite concealed carry licenses 'for law-abiding citizens' and help D.C.'s forensic crime laboratory get accreditation. The executive order also creates a program to clear all homeless encampments and graffiti on federal lands. The order intends to restore and 'beautify' federal buildings, monuments, statues, parks, memorials, and roadways. '…Our nation's capital, the only city that belongs to all of us, must be a symbol of pride for the American people and a safe location for public servants to do the people's work. Today, because of failed policies, it's not,' read a fact sheet issued by the White House regarding the order. In recent weeks, Trump has complained about the crime and homelessness in D.C. while throwing his support behind congressional efforts for the federal government to control the city. Following Trump's comments, MPD released a statement in February addressing public safety. In the statement, across the District, noting that violent crime in 2024 dropped by 35%, including a 32% drop in homicides and a 39% decrease in robberies. DMV leaders react following announcement of HHS layoffs However, the White House says 'the left' proclaims 'modest decreases' in D.C. crime in 2024, but the numbers still represent a 'massive increase from earlier rates.' 'Crime is near historic highs, yet D.C. police force numbers recently reached a half-century low,' said the White House. The administration added that 2023 saw the highest number of homicides in D.C. since 1997 and that MPD has fewer than 3,500 officers but needs at least 4,000. As of Thursday, overall crime is down in the District; however, motor vehicle thefts and burglaries have increased by 6% and 12%, respectively, according to DC News Now reached out to the Executive Office of the Mayor for comment but has not yet heard back. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
