Latest news with #HomeRule
The Herald Scotland
a day ago
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
Mayor Muriel Bowser criticizes Donald Trump's DC police takeover
"We're not experiencing a spike in crime but a decrease in crime," Bowser said during an Aug. 11 press conference following Trump's announcement earlier in the day, where he initiated a dramatic federal takeover of the city's police force and also deployed the D.C. National Guard. Yet the mayor acknowledged Trump's authority under the Home Rule Act, which gives the federal government certain powers over DC governance. Trump cited the law in an executive order declaring he was using emergency powers to seize control of the city's Metropolitan Police Department. "The Home Rule charter requires the mayor to provide the services of MPD during special conditions of an emergency, and we will follow the law," Bowser said. Potential legal issues surrounding the federal takeover are "under review," Bowser added, but she added that the "plain language" of the Home Rule charter authorizes the president to take certain actions and says "the mayor shall comply." Trump has long criticized Democrat-run D.C. as dangerous and threated to take control of the city, a federal enclave under jurisdiction of the U.S. government. The District of Columbia Home Rule Act of 1973 gave the city local governance, including an elected mayor and city council, but allows for federal intervention. Trump's move marks a dramatic escalation from rhetoric to federal control of a major municipal police force. He also is deploying 800 National Guard members. While many Democrats are uneasy about the executive action and call it unjustified, Bowser said there could be benefits. "The fact that we have more law enforcement presence in neighborhoods, that could be positive," she said. The mayor has taken a less combative approach to Trump during his second term after clashing with him in his first term. Asked if her tenor toward Trump would change with his recent move, Bowser said "my tenor will be appropriate for what I think is important for the District, and what's important for the district is that we can take care of our citizens." Bowser said concerns about Trump's actions they should be channeled into achieving statehood for DC and obtaining local control over the DC National Guard. Contributing: Joey Garrison
USA Today
a day ago
- Politics
- USA Today
'Unsettling and unprecedented.' DC mayor criticizes Trump's police takeover
The mayor disputed Trump's justification for declaring a crime emergency, noting that crime has been trending down in the city after spiking in 2023. President Donald Trump's move to assert control over Washington D.C.'s police force is "unsettling and unprecedented" the city's mayor said, while also indicating she will cooperate with federal authorities. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser disputed Trump's justification for declaring a crime emergency in her city calling it a subjective 'so-called emergency' and noting that the capital's crime rate has been trending down after a post-pandemic increase that peaked in 2023. 'We're not experiencing a spike in crime but a decrease in crime,' Bowser said during an Aug. 11 press conference following Trump's announcement earlier in the day, where he initiated a dramatic federal takeover of the city's police force and also deployed the D.C. National Guard. Yet the mayor acknowledged Trump's authority under the Home Rule Act, which gives the federal government certain powers over DC governance. Trump cited the law in an executive order declaring he was using emergency powers to seize control of the city's Metropolitan Police Department. 'The Home Rule charter requires the mayor to provide the services of MPD during special conditions of an emergency, and we will follow the law,' Bowser said. Potential legal issues surrounding the federal takeover are 'under review,' Bowser added, but she added that the 'plain language' of the Home Rule charter authorizes the president to take certain actions and says 'the mayor shall comply.' Trump has long criticized Democrat-run D.C. as dangerous and threated to take control of the city, a federal enclave under jurisdiction of the U.S. government. The District of Columbia Home Rule Act of 1973 gave the city local governance, including an elected mayor and city council, but allows for federal intervention. Trump's move marks a dramatic escalation from rhetoric to federal control of a major municipal police force. He also is deploying 800 National Guard members. While many Democrats are uneasy about the executive action and call it unjustified, Bowser said there could be benefits. 'The fact that we have more law enforcement presence in neighborhoods, that could be positive,' she said. The mayor has taken a less combative approach to Trump during his second term after clashing with him in his first term. Asked if her tenor toward Trump would change with his recent move, Bowser said 'my tenor will be appropriate for what I think is important for the District, and what's important for the district is that we can take care of our citizens.' Bowser said concerns about Trump's actions they should be channeled into achieving statehood for DC and obtaining local control over the DC National Guard. Contributing: Joey Garrison
Fox News
a day ago
- Politics
- Fox News
Washington D.C. Is More Dangerous Than Mexico City! Inside President Trump's Plan To Clean Up The Capitol (ft. Senator Markwayne Mullin)
Story #1: Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) joins Will to break down President Donald Trump's move to invoke 'Home Rule' and deploy the National Guard to fight crime in Washington, D.C. The two also tackle rising juvenile crime, the root causes of broken communities, and whether a peace deal with Russia is actually within reach. Plus, Senator Mullin explains the behind-the-scenes fight to speed up President Trump's cabinet confirmations. Story #2: Three-time loser Beto O'Rourke says that Democrats will 'drive it like they stole it' and legalize every illegal immigrant, as Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) calls GOP redistricting efforts 'legal insurrections.' Will calls out Democrats' lies and shifting narratives on gerrymandering. Story #3: An NFL kicker just booted a 70-yard field goal, albeit in a pre-season game. Will breaks down what this could mean for the game. If you don't even need to cross midfield to get points, how much more valuable do kickers become? Subscribe to 'Will Cain Country' on YouTube here: Watch Will Cain Country! Follow Will on X: @WillCain Learn more about your ad choices. Visit
Axios
4 days ago
- Politics
- Axios
Trump's federal crackdown on D.C. causes confusion: What to know
President Trump is stepping up federal law enforcement in D.C. this week, deploying officials from over 15 agencies in a high-profile push to crack down on crime. Why it matters: D.C.'s mix of federal- and city-controlled land creates overlapping law enforcement zones — making it easier to increase arrests, but also raising alarms over accountability and civil rights. State of play: Trump's high-visibility, multi-agency operation launched Friday — led by the U.S. Park Police, with potential for extension. It includes familiar agencies like U.S. Capitol Police, Metro and Amtrak police. Other agencies seen less frequently on D.C. streets include: DEA, FBI, ATF, Homeland Security and the U.S. Marshals. Federal officers will patrol in marked units and uniforms. How they'll coordinate with the Metropolitan Police Department is unclear. The agency didn't respond to Axios' requests for comment. 🧭 Target zones: Tourist-heavy areas — the National Mall, downtown museums — plus Rock Creek Park, Anacostia Park, Union Station, the George Washington and Baltimore-Washington parkways, and more. Friction point: Civil rights groups warn the crackdown is unnecessary and risky. "A huge concern is training. When you start injecting entities with a different mission and different way of looking at the world, that can be a recipe for danger," ACLU-D.C. legal director Scott Michelman tells Axios. He points to federal authorities' response to racial justice demonstrations in Lafayette Square in 2020 during the first Trump administration, which led to lawsuits and policy changes years later. "Accountability mechanisms for federal law enforcement — if they violate the Constitution — are so much weaker versus state and local." Meanwhile, D.C.'s patchwork of city-controlled and federal land — and generally harsher penalties for federal violations — makes things murkier. Zoom in: 90% of D.C. parks are federally controlled. That includes neighborhood gathering spaces like Malcolm X, Dupont and Logan Circles, as well as most of downtown's green space. Penalties can be more severe on federal land for minor offenses — including open alcohol containers or marijuana possession, which is legal in D.C. "You can come across any agency at any given time," says Sharell Jarvis, an organizer with Free DC, a group that campaigns to protect Home Rule. Catch up quick: On Tuesday, Trump threatened to federalize D.C. following what police said was an unarmed carjacking attempt near Logan Circle and beating of a former DOGE staffer.
Boston Globe
5 days ago
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Trump orders increased federal law enforcement presence in Washington to ‘make DC safe again'
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 — but could face steep pushback. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up 'We have a capital that's very unsafe,' Trump told reporters at the White House this week. 'We have to run D.C.' Advertisement The White House said the increased law enforcement would 'make D.C. safe again' and would be present on the streets starting at midnight — led by U.S. Park Police following an 11 p.m. Thursday roll call at an established command center. The push will last the next seven days with the option to extend 'as needed,' under the authority of Trump's previous executive order establishing the Making DC Safe and Beautiful Task Force. The added federal officials will be identified, in marked units and highly visible, the White House said. Advertisement Participating law enforcement include personnel from the U.S. Capitol Police, Homeland Security Investigations, the Federal Protective Service, the Drug Enforcement Administration, Enforcement and Removal Operations, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the U.S. Marshals Service and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia. The police forces for Amtrak and the city's Metro rail service are also involved. However a two-hour tour of the D.C. streets, starting around 1 a.m. Friday morning, revealed no evidence of the sort of multi-agency flood of uniformed personnel described in Trump's announcement. There was a robust, but not unusual, Metropolitan Police Department presence in late-night hot spots like 14th Street and along Florida Avenue. But there was no overt or visible law enforcement presence other than the MPD. Trump has long suggested crime and violence is on the rise in Washington, and has lately begun to criticize things like litter and graffiti. But the catalyst for the order to increase police presence was the assault last weekend on a high-profile member of the Department of Government Efficiency by a group of teenagers in an attempted carjacking. The victim, Edward Coristine, nicknamed 'Big Balls,' was among the most visible figures of DOGE, which was tasked with cutting jobs and slashing the federal bureaucracy. Police arrested two 15-year-olds and say they're still looking for other members of the group. 'If D.C. doesn't get its act together, and quickly, we will have no choice but to take Federal control of the City, and run this City how it should be run, and put criminals on notice that they're not going to get away with it anymore,' Trump posted on Truth Social earlier this week. Advertisement The president subsequently said he was considering repealing Washington's limited Home Rule autonomy or 'bringing in the National Guard, maybe very quickly.' Thursday's announcement comes as Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser's government can claim to have reduced the number of homicides and carjackings — both of which spiked citywide in 2023. Carjackings in Washington overall dropped significantly the following year in 2024, from 957 to just under 500, and the number is on track to decline again this year — with less than 200 recorded so far more than halfway through 2025.
