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Tag: federal law enforcement surge

  • Congressional report: National Guard in DC has cost taxpayers $330 million – WTOP News

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    The Trump administration’s deployment of the National Guard to D.C. has cost taxpayers more than $330 million, and that figure could nearly double if personnel remain in the District through the end of the year, according to a new congressional report.

    For all the latest developments in Congress, follow WTOP Capitol Hill correspondent Mitchell Miller at Today on the Hill.

    The Trump administration’s deployment of the National Guard to D.C. has cost taxpayers more than $330 million, and that figure could nearly double if personnel remain in the District through the end of the year, according to a new congressional report.

    The report from Democrats on the Senate Homeland Security Committee also states there is no measurable evidence to show whether the presence of National Guard personnel is making D.C. safer.

    Guard personnel have been deployed in the District since last August, when President Donald Trump declared a crime emergency and placed the D.C. police department under federal control.

    “While combating crime must be a priority at all levels of government, it is not clear that the hundreds of millions of dollars spent on deploying the National Guard, purportedly to support this effort, is effective in making the nation’s capital any safer,” the report states.

    Crime has gone down during the Guard’s deployment, but D.C. leaders have pointed out it was trending downward before the president’s declaration.

    How long will Guard personnel remain in DC?

    The length of the Guard’s deployment remains open-ended and is now expected to extend through at least July, when Washington celebrates the America 250 commemoration of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

    But various officials have indicated that Guard personnel could remain in D.C. through the end of the year.

    If that happens, the report states the cost to taxpayers will be on track to exceed more than $600 million. That is more than the entire budget for D.C. police, which is $599 million for fiscal year 2026.

    More than 2,000 service members from several states are deployed in the District.

    Supporters of the deployment, including Republican members of Congress, say Guard personnel have helped make the city safer by being a visible presence.

    Before winter set in, Guard members were involved in a lot of activities related to “beautification” of the nation’s capital, painting fences, pruning trees and spreading mulch.

    While they are armed, they are not allowed to make arrests. Guard leaders told lawmakers they have been involved in helping to deal with scuffles on the National Mall.

    Two members of the West Virginia National Guard were shot by a gunman just blocks from the White House last year. One of them died and another was seriously injured.

    The report concludes with questions about the effectiveness of the mission and the deployment of Guard members to help deal with crime.

    The report states “it remains unclear, for the price of $332 million (and counting), whether the National Guard has actually made D.C.’s streets safer,” and whether resources would be better spent on their “normal missions,” including responding to disasters across the country.

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    © 2026 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

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    Mitchell Miller

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  • How Trump reshaped DC’s relationship with the federal government – WTOP News

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    The federal government has long been able to get involved in D.C.’s governance, but legal experts said over the past year, those powers have been used more visibly and frequently since Inauguration Day.

    Only one year into President Donald Trump’s second term, the relationship between Washington, D.C. and the federal government has been tested in new ways, as a series of legal challenges have put fresh attention on the limits of home rule and who ultimately controls policing, public safety and governance in the nation’s capital.

    The tension seen between the White House and the Wilson Building has centered on the federal government’s ability to step into local affairs. The federal government has long been able to get involved in D.C.’s governance, but legal experts said over the past year, those powers have been used more visibly and frequently since Inauguration Day.

    The Trump administration has argued that its actions fall within a long-standing federal authority over the District, noting that limits on home rule were established decades ago and not created during the current term.

    Supporters say the federal involvement was driven by public safety and security concerns, while critics argue the frequency and visibility of those actions raise new questions about precedent and local control.

    2025 federal law enforcement surge

    One flashpoint that received national attention was in August when the president announced a public safety emergency in D.C., which allowed the White House to take temporary control over D.C.’s police force.

    Julius Hobson, a longtime D.C. political analyst, said that moment made the city’s limited autonomy clear.

    “The home rule charter says the president could do that for 30 days, but it didn’t say anything about renewing. And he could have done that, but it started off really bad. Fortunately, the police chief and the U.S. attorney were able to negotiate some of that out and to get them out of the day to day,” Hobson said.

    Home rule is fragile, he said, and that became apparent during those actions.

    “It underscores the very limits of home rule that were always there, and most people didn’t realize or come to grips with the fact that home rule really is limited,” Hobson said.

    Another decision that saw legal challenges was the increased presence of D.C. National Guard troops. In Washington, the president and secretary of defense have authority over the guard, the city does not.

    Meryl Chertoff, an adjunct professor of law at Georgetown University Law Center, said the presence of the guard during the president’s crime emergency and beyond has been one of the most notable changes residents have seen.

    “The most obvious, visually, to people living in the District is the presence of federal law enforcement agents and the National Guard,” she said. “Because of D.C.’s limited home rule and particular provisions in the D.C. charter, it has been somewhat difficult to challenge the legal basis for having those National Guard troops in D.C., if they are federalized troops.”

    Legal challenges by the D.C. attorney general and others have focused not just on the guard’s presence but, according to Chertoff, also on how they have been deployed.

    “One of the things that has been particularly disturbing has been the presence, not of D.C. National Guard doing federal missions, but the presence of National Guard troops from other jurisdictions — from West Virginia, Ohio, and places like that — that have been sent into the District,” Chertoff said.

    She said D.C.’s status as a federal city, not a state, makes these deployments harder to challenge.

    Congress steps in the way

    It wasn’t only the executive actions that got attention. There were also moves by Congress, which Chertoff said she’s watching closely.

    “My biggest concern in terms of what we are seeing now is actually not coming from the executive branch, but it’s coming from the Hill,” she said.

    The House has been debating roughly a dozen bills that, if approved, would give Congress greater control over aspects of D.C.’s governance, and that is a dynamic Chertoff described as part of the broader legal challenges to home rule that have been seen.

    While some bills have passed the House, none have been passed by the Senate.

    With the court challenges, both Hobson and Chertoff said D.C.’s unique status limits how far lawsuits can go.

    “The courts have been somewhat constrained by this peculiar position that D.C. is in, that it is the federal district and that there are limitations on what the courts have done. But more, there’s been a problem for the mayor. Unlike states where there is a governor standing between the mayor and the federal government, there is no layer between D.C. and the federal government,” Chertoff said.

    Hobson believes the actions taken last year could also shape what future presidents decide to do.

    “It sets a political and legal precedent with regard to the District of Columbia that future presidents can do the same thing anytime they want,” he said.

    Chertoff said home rule ultimately determines how much control D.C. residents have over everyday decisions.

    “Home rule in the District means that D.C. residents get to have the same say as the people in any other state over local matters — the matters that affect their lives every day, whether that’s transportation, policing (or) schools,” she said. “When the federal government comes in and bigfoots, that takes that control — that people across the rest of the United States have over their day to day lives — on questions like education, on questions of do you feel safe walking the streets of your own city?”

    Chertoff warned that federal intervention can shift that balance.

    “In the last year, home rule is very shaky. It’s always been on shaky ground, but it’s on greater shaky ground than ever before,” he said.

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    © 2026 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

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    Mike Murillo

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  • How will DC’s law enforcement surge be remembered? – WTOP News

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    Since August, Washington has grappled with a federal blow to its autonomy after President Donald Trump declared a crime emergency in the nation’s capital. Hundreds of National Guard members began to roam the city streets and D.C. police began working with federal law enforcement agencies. But where does the city stand now?

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    How will DC’s law enforcement surge be remembered?

    This story is part of WTOP’s series “Five stories that defined the DC-area in 2025.” You can hear it on air all this week and read it online.

    During a news conference on Aug. 11, President Donald Trump vowed to address crime in D.C. He promised to get rid of what he described as the city’s “slums,” activated hundreds of National Guard members to patrol D.C. streets and told Attorney General Pam Bondi she had control of the city’s police force.

    Trump similarly described his aim to address vandalism, potholes and medians on city streets and homeless encampments.

    In doing so, Trump invoked Section 740 of D.C.’s Home Rule Act.

    In the months that followed, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser had to walk a tightrope to navigate the federal intervention. She pushed back on the assertion that it was a federal takeover, instead calling it a “surge” of law enforcement in the nation’s capital.

    Before the crime emergency was announced, city leaders maintained that violent crime had already been falling. The city’s crime data, though, has been the subject of congressional and Department of Justice investigations.

    The White House, meanwhile, is commending the surge for making D.C. safer. During the emergency, it released crime data from the day prior daily.

    “If you were to talk to any police chief in the country, they’re always going to want more resources,” said Patrick Eddington, a senior fellow at Cato Institute. “I don’t think that there’s any of them that would turn down additional money, especially money to hire additional officers.”

    But, Eddington said, there are federal grant programs in place for that.

    “The National Guard is not one of those resources that should be used,” he said.

    National Guard descends on DC

    Protesters, police, and National Guard troops congregate at the entrance to Union Station in D.C., where Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Vice President JD Vance visited Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

    In the days after the crime emergency was declared, hundreds of National Guard members arrived on city streets. They worked near Metro stations and parks. Some helped collect garbage and assist with maintenance work.

    Federal law enforcement worked with D.C. government agencies to coordinate the clearing of homeless encampments across the city.

    At the same time, some residents reported a rise in masked federal officers working in their communities.

    During appearances in late August, Bowser stressed the city didn’t ask for the federal assistance. But she said the federal help meant more resources, resulting in more traffic stops and more illegal gun seizures.

    Bowser criticized agents wearing masks and “ICE terrorizing communities.” She described having National Guard troops, especially those from other states, in the city as something “not working.”

    Asked for comment about the law enforcement surge’s impact, a spokesperson from Bowser’s office referred WTOP to those prior remarks.

    Meanwhile, Taylor Rogers, a White House spokeswoman, said Trump transformed D.C. “from a crime-ridden mess into a beautiful, clean, safe city. Federal law enforcement officers, in close coordination with local partners, have removed countless dangerous criminals and illegal drugs from the streets, arrested MS-13 and Tren de Aragua gang members, and rescued missing children.”

    Federal government declines extension of declaration

    Congress declined to extend the president’s crime emergency, which expired in September.

    Bowser issued a mayor’s order, outlining how D.C. would continue to collaborate with the federal government after the 30-day declaration. It created a “Safe and Beautiful Emergency Operations Center,” responsible for managing the city’s response to Trump’s Safe and Beautiful Task Force.

    The order outlined the agencies D.C. would continue to collaborate with. It didn’t mention U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement or the National Guard.

    D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, hoping to end the National Guard’s deployment, in early September. The legal battle, though, is ongoing.

    As of Dec. 14, a spokesman for D.C.’s Joint Task Force said there were 2,606 troops deployed to the city. Pending court rulings, troops could remain in D.C. through February.

    Trump called for hundreds more troops in the city after two were shot near Farragut Square during the week of Thanksgiving. Twenty-year-old Specialist Sarah Beckstrom died, and Sgt. Andrew Wolfe is still recovering.

    For a short time after the November shooting, D.C. police worked overtime patrolling city streets alongside the National Guard. That was no longer the case as of mid-December, a D.C. police spokesman told WTOP.

    Surge still lingers in DC

    Members of the National Guard patrol at Gallery Place Metro Station on Dec. 3, 2025 in D.C. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

    With signs of the surge still evident across the city, residents have conflicting feelings about its legacy.

    Taylor Helle moved to D.C. this summer for an internship, and enjoyed the city so much she stayed. She said it felt like “the safest city I’ve ever been in.”

    “I don’t think it’s really been that necessary, and I haven’t felt a lot safer because of it,” Helle said. “It just feels like there’s better things they can be doing with their time.”

    Dylan Vanek, meanwhile, said troops on D.C. streets crossed a line, “because what separates us from Russia or China or Iran is civil liberties. How can we claim to be better if we have troops on our streets policing civilians?”

    A federal government employee, who asked not to be named because she’s not authorized to speak publicly, said the surge and Guard presence “gave me a sense of calm.”

    “I just get a sense (that) people are a little calmer now,” the woman said. “To me, you don’t see a lot of foolishness going on. Even homeless people — it’s just a calm. I don’t understand it, but it’s a nice calm.”

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    © 2025 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

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    Scott Gelman

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  • In year-end interview, Virginia Sen. Mark Warner says DC region hit hardest by Trump policies in 2025 – WTOP News

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    In a wide-ranging, year-end interview with WTOP, Virginia Sen. Mark Warner said the D.C. region was hit the hardest by President Donald Trump’s policies.

    Reflecting on 2025, Virginia Sen. Mark Warner said he and his office helped tens of thousands of people across the state with individual requests, while criticizing cuts at federal agencies and the law enforcement surge in D.C.

    In a wide-ranging, year-end interview with WTOP, he said his office assisted with 16,000 requests, ranging from passports to lost Social Security checks.

    “We had about $18 million that was rightfully Virginians’ (put) back into their pockets,” Warner said. “That was good. That doesn’t get a lot of attention, all of the case work that happens year in and year out.”

    Warner said his office also assisted victims of Hurricane Helene in Southwest Virginia. He praised the opening of new VA Hospitals in Spotsylvania and Hampton Roads, projects he said were about 10 years in the making.

    “It was great to see them open,” he said. “Shouldn’t have taken that long, but it was also a little bit frustrating with the administration’s cutbacks on the VA that we can’t now fill the hospital with VA workers, because who wants to work for the VA if you’re going to be constantly threatened and fired?”

    Virginia is close to becoming one of the first states to have full broadband coverage everywhere, including in all the rural areas, Warner said.

    Reelection intentions

    The three-term senator has previously announced his plan to run for reelection next fall.

    Despite Governor-elect Abigail Spanberger’s victory in Virginia this year, Warner said, “it’s hard to predict politics these days. I’m going into next year ready to ask and make the case for Virginians to hire me one last time.”

    Nationally, Warner criticized the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, cuts at federal agencies. Federal workers and contractors lost thousands of jobs in Northern Virginia, he said, “a smart DOGE would have made sense. But this kind of ‘break things first and try and pick up the pieces later,’ I think it’s caused some permanent damage to our workforce.”

    Among problems he plans to tackle in the future, Warner said housing and child care costs are too high and “health care is an issue that we really have to revisit in a much more comprehensive way.”

    The Democratic senator is critical of conditions at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facilities in Chantilly and Farmville and said while President Donald Trump “rightfully said we need to fix the border, I don’t think that meant having masked ICE agents running around, picking up moms as they drop off kids at day care, or picking up dads as they go to work.”

    “It’s been a really hard year for the region, for Virginia,” Warner said. “In particular, the region, the DMV, we’ve probably felt the biggest brunt of the Trump actions. I think obviously, by all the elections in the region, this is not what we want.”

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    © 2025 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

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    Scott Gelman

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  • Five stories defined the defined the DC-area in 2025 – WTOP News

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    1/5

    Demonstrators rally in support of federal workers outside of the Department of Health and Human Services, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025, in D.C.
    (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

    #1: Federal layoffs and job cuts

    Back in January, President Donald Trump tapped billionaire Elon Musk to lead what was called the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. The stated goal was to cut fraud, waste and abuse by downsizing the federal workforce.

    DOGE’s efforts led hundreds of thousands of federal workers to leave their jobs through layoffs, firings or the “deferred resignation” program.

    “When we look January to June, there’s been a huge drop in federal employment in the region. It’s down 4.5%,” said Tracy Hadden Loh, a fellow with the Brookings Institution.

    Loh and Terry Clower, the director of the Schar School’s Center for Regional Analysis at George Mason University, said there are still a lot of unknowns since detailed local third quarter labor data likely won’t be released until next month.

    “The DOGE cuts and the actions of the Trump administration have hit the region very quickly,” Clower said.

    WTOP’s Kate Ryan reports on the impact DOGE has had on the local economy.

    Read the full story here.


    Military Aviation Mishaps
    2/5

    Rescue and salvage crews pull up airplane wreckage of an American Airlines jet in the Potomac River from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Feb. 3, 2025, in Arlington, Va.
    (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

    #2: Midair crash near DCA

    The midair collision near Reagan National Airport on Jan. 29 involving an American Airlines passenger jet and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter killed all 64 aboard the jet, and the three-person chopper crew.

    The National Transportation Safety Board concluded the crash was caused by a combination of altitude misreporting, the D.C. area’s congested airspace and communication failures. The chopper’s altimeter was underreporting the helicopter’s altitude, so the crew believed they were flying at the appropriate level, which put the chopper directly in the approach path of the jet.

    The FAA permanently banned nonessential helicopter flights in critical DCA airspace, with exceptions only for medevac, law enforcement, presidential or urgent missions.

    WTOP’s Neal Augenstein reports on how the crash changed D.C.’s airspace.

    Read the full story here on Tuesday.


    Government Shutdown
    3/5

    A sign that reads “Closed due to federal government shutdown,” is seen outside of the National Gallery of Art on the 6th day of the government shutdown, in Washington, Monday, Oct. 6, 2025.
    (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

    #3: Federal government shutdown

    There have been a growing number of government shutdowns in recent years, but none has lasted longer than the one that dragged on for 43 days in the fall of 2025.

    The shutdown had a major impact, causing more than a million federal employees to work without pay, millions of Americans to lose their food assistance when SNAP benefits ran out and widespread disruptions in air travel.

    The U.S. House was also out of session during the duration of the shutdown, bringing all legislative action to a halt.

    The government shutdown, while decried by Republicans and Democrats, was used by both parties to try to achieve their policy goals — a method that usually fails.

    Democrats pressed to get subsidies extended for the Affordable Care Act that would prevent insurance premiums from soaring for millions of Americans in January.

    Ultimately, Senate Majority Leader and South Dakota Sen. John Thune agreed to a vote on extending the subsidies, which failed in the Senate.

    The subsidies are set to expire on Dec. 31, and Congress potentially faces another shutdown showdown when federal funds run out on Jan. 30.

    WTOP’s Mitchell Miller reports on how the 2025 federal government shutdown opened the doors for potentially more in the future.

    Read the full story on Wednesday.


    FBN Commanders Stadium
    4/5

    Washington Commanders controlling owner Josh Harris, from left, signs a helmet along with D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell after an announcement about a new home for the NFL football team on the site of the old RFK Stadium, Monday, April 28, 2025, at the National Press Club in D.C.
    (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

    #4: Washington Commanders stadium deal

    D.C. scored big this year. After months of tense negotiations, the D.C. Council voted to bring the Washington Commanders back home with a new stadium at the former RFK Stadium site.

    The first vote in August passed 9-3, and after some last-minute drama, the final vote in September sealed the deal.

    “Washington, D.C., residents are winning,” said Council member Kenyan McDuffie.

    Demolition of the old RFK Stadium is already underway, and the site will be cleared for construction by fall 2026. The new roofed stadium is expected to open in 2030, marking the largest private investment in city history.

    WTOP’s Mike Murillo reports on what to expect with the development of a new sports stadium in the nation’s capital.

    Read the full story here on Thursday.


    Trump District of Columbia
    5/5

    District of Columbia National Guard members park near the Washington Monument Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025, in D.C.
    (Kyle Cooper/WTOP News via AP)

    #5: Federal law enforcement surge in DC

    President Donald Trump activated hundreds of National Guard members and described a plan for federal oversight of D.C.’s police department on Aug. 11.

    While city leaders touted significant drops in violent crime before the effort, Trump said the plan would, in part, be “getting rid of the slums.” He also criticized the maintenance of city streets and parks, highlighting graffiti and potholes.

    The crime emergency ended after 30 days, after Congress declined to extend it. White House data described drops in violent crime categories.

    D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser signed an executive order outlining the city’s path for federal collaboration after the emergency declaration ended in the fall, but signs of the surge remain. As of early December, there were over 2,700 National Guard troops assigned to patrol the city, according to data from the Joint Task Force.

    During the week of Thanksgiving, West Virginia National Guard members Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe and Specialist Sarah Beckstrom were shot near Farragut Square. Beckstrom died in the shooting, and Wolfe was critically injured. In the days after, D.C. police teamed up with Guard members to patrol city streets.

    There’s an ongoing court battle over whether the military presence in D.C. is legal, and whether the deployment can continue. Guard members are reportedly expected to remain in D.C. through at least February.

    WTOP’s Scott Gelman reports on the August federal law enforcement surge and how the takeover of the District’s police force still echoes months later.

    Read the full story here on Friday.

    WTOP’s Ciara Wells, Kate Ryan, Neal Augenstein, Mitchell Miller, Mike Murillo and Scott Gelman contributed to this report.

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    © 2025 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

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    Ciara Wells

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  • DC pushes back on indefinite deployment of National Guard – WTOP News

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    D.C. is pushing back against what it argues is an illegal and indefinite deployment of National Guard troops, under federal control, in the nation’s capital.

    D.C. is pushing back against what it argues is an illegal and indefinite deployment of National Guard troops, under federal control, in the nation’s capital.

    Court documents suggest troops have been instructed to prepare for “long-term persistent presence” in the District, possibly though next summer in conjunction with the “America 250” celebration.

    D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb filed the supplemental brief Friday in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

    He’s expected to go before a federal judge Friday to ask the court to issue an injunction to stop the National Guard deployment and restore local control over law enforcement.

    Federal command over National Guard is unconstitutional, filing argues

    According to the brief, National Guard personnel stationed across the District, including out-of-state troops, are operating under the command of the D.C. National Guard and the Defense Department.

    That’s opposed to taking direction from their respective governors or generals.

    According to the brief, federal command of those troops in state militia violates the Militia Clauses of the Constitution and the statutes governing the National Guard.

    The troops report to a colonel in the D.C. National Guard, who sends updates to out-of-state officials.

    The filing argued the National Guard’s participation in arrests, patrols and warrant executions violates federal law, which restricts military involvement in civilian law enforcement.

    District says deployment has strained police, threatened public safety

    D.C. argued the troops’ deployment has impeded on the District’s sovereignty.

    In the brief, the District said the troops’ deployment is “placing burdens” on D.C. and “threatening public safety.”

    Namely, the brief mentions the presence of military vehicles and troops without standard law enforcement training. The dangers posed by large military vehicles have caused the District to give emergency responders extra training to prepare in case of a vehicle accident or fire.

    D.C. police officers have also been impacted by some of those burdens caused by “increased tensions,” according to the filing.

    The troops are operating as Special Deputy U.S. Marshals, which grants them law enforcement authority. Though they are not authorized to make arrests, the filing shows some have engaged in arrests and been given training on “handcuffing techniques,” as well as “weapon retention and takedown defense”

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    © 2025 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

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    Matt Small

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  • ‘DC residents trust my judgment’: Bowser remarks on federal law enforcement surge, RFK redevelopment project – WTOP News

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    From what it took to get the Commanders’ stadium deal done to the federal law enforcement surge in D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser is sharing her thoughts.

    D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser addressed a number of issues facing the District, from what it took to get the Commanders’ stadium deal done to the recent surge of federal law enforcement in the city, during an interview.

    Speaking with political analyst Chuck Todd, in the most recent episode of the Noosphere app’s “Sunday Night with Chuck Todd,” Bowser shared a cup of coffee and a 45-minute conversation at Lauriol Plaza in Dupont Circle.

    The Burgundy and Gold had to ‘get itself together’

    Bowser, while discussing how she secured the multi-billion dollar deal to bring the Washington Commanders back to the RFK Stadium site with a new stadium, said before anything could begin in earnest, Washington’s NFL team had to “get itself together.” 

    “They went from a winning team to one who had troubled ownership and management and wasn’t winning and didn’t really have a vision for a future, to a new ownership team that likes to win. … When we had the right partner (referring to Commanders managing partner Josh Harris), we knew we were in the position to deliver the whole deal,” Bowser said.

    When asked by Todd about former team owner Dan Snyder, Bowser called Snyder “a big impediment.”

    She also downplayed any concerns regarding potentially negative effects for residents living nearby the RFK Stadium site, saying there’s been a football stadium there before, and “we can estimate with pretty good clarity the transportation impacts.”

    Bowser said the difference between RFK Stadium and what will replace it is that it will be what she called “an entire entertainment district.”

    “We’ll have better connections to the river, more park space and housing. And this was the vision for this … 180 acres. Thirty years ago, the Anacostia Waterfront Initiative that Mayor (Anthony) Williams launched envisioned that you would have a mixed use development there — with a focus on sports. And we’ve been able to deliver on that vision,” Bowser said.

    She said the city has built in displacement protections in terms of property value for nearby residents: “So if you live there, your property value may go up, but your tax bill can only go up 10%. If you’re over 65, your property value may go up, but your tax bill can only go up 2%.”

    Bowser added that “we expect that … there will be a lot of equity produced there, but more than that, jobs and $14 billion of economic activity.”

    DC’s cooperation with the federal government

    Bowser told Todd that while the president’s crime emergency declaration recently expired, she has issued her own mayor’s order that allows for D.C. police Chief Pamela Smith and the city’s Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Lindsey Appiah to work with their counterparts in the federal government to deploy additional federal officers when necessary.

    “There is a group (U.S. Capitol Police, Secret Service, DEA, ATF, FBI and U.S. Park Police) that are in the National Capital Region all the time that can be helpful for us. And they actually surged personnel with our personnel to give us more manpower and womanpower on the streets,” Bowser said, adding “that’s helpful.”

    But she said the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids in D.C. are not.

    “They’re not doing law enforcement work. They’re doing immigration enforcement work. And similarly, our out-of-state guardsmen, God bless them. They’re on orders, but they’re not really on mission either,” Bowser said.

    ‘The field has changed’: Bowser’s relationship with President Trump

    When Todd asked Bowser why it appeared she was less confrontation with President Donald Trump during his second term versus his first term, the mayor responded with: “the field has changed.”

    Bowser said there’s a difference between the president’s first and second administrations. She said whether one believes Trump should have been reelected president or not, he is the president and “we have to play the plays that work.” Acknowledging that there is “a lot out of our control.”

    Regarding what Todd called “national Democrats” upset that she’s not being more confrontational with the White House, Bowser responded: “I don’t work for them. I work for the 700,000 people of Washington, D.C.”

    And when it comes to her constituents, Bowser said: “D.C. residents trust my judgment. I feel very confident about that. … I go into rooms that they don’t go into, they don’t want to go into, and they don’t have to go into, because I go into those rooms. … They know what my north star is, and that is protecting Home Rule at every step.”

    She added, “What’s going to happen in six months? I can’t tell you. I know where we are today is that we control our budget. We control our service delivery, and our council is making the laws that govern how we live in the city. We have to continue to fight for expansion of home rule … not diminishing home rule.”

    Bowser said, “Those things are important to where we are.”

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  • WTOP Answers: Has the federal law enforcement surge decreased crime in DC? – WTOP News

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    WTOP’s Kay Perkins breaks down crime data from D.C. police to get to the bottom of the law enforcement surge’s impact on crime in the District.

    One week after President Donald Trump’s crime emergency declaration in D.C. expired, WTOP’s Kay Perkins breaks down crime data from D.C. police to get to the bottom of the law enforcement surge’s impact on crime in the District.

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  • DC leaders defend crime fighting efforts to Congress as federal law enforcement surge continues – WTOP News

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    D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser on Thursday defended her policies to Congress as President Donald Trump’s law enforcement surge is in its second month and lawmakers act to further limit the city’s authority.

    House DC District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser speaks during a hearing of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on Capitol Hill, Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

    AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein

    House DC District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser, left, and D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson talk during a hearing of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on Capitol Hill, Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

    AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein

    House DC District of Columbia Attorney General Brian Schwalb, from left, D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson, and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser are sworn in during a hearing of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on Capitol Hill, Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

    AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein

    House DC District of Columbia Police Chief Pamela Smith, right, and Mayor Muriel Bowser listen during a hearing of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on Capitol Hill, Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

    AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein

    WASHINGTON (AP) — D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser on Thursday defended her policies to Congress as President Donald Trump’s law enforcement surge is in its second month and lawmakers act to further limit the city’s authority.

    She was invited to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform to answer questions about crime in the nation’s capital. Trump issued an emergency order last month that federalized the city’s police department and launched a surge of law enforcement. The emergency order expired earlier this month but federal agencies and the National Guard continue their operations in the city.

    Bowser listed off the city’s accomplishments in reducing crime, acknowledging that the federal intervention had enhanced those achievements.

    “Any crime is too much crime,” Bowser said. “But we’re trending in the right direction.”

    Bowser is leading the city at a time when the district’s self-governance is being challenged in ways never before seen since the passage of the Home Rule Act of 1973, which grants the district some autonomy. Federal leaders retain significant control over local affairs, including the approval of the budget and laws passed by the D.C. Council.

    Committee chair berated Bowser and other officials on crime

    Committee chair Rep. James Comer berated Bowser and other city officials for D.C. crime, opening the hearing with a litany of recent offenses, many of them crimes involving current and former congressional staff members, including the fatal shooting of Congressional intern Eric Tarpinian-Jachym.

    “These high crime rates are largely driven by historically high rates of juvenile crime, which were enabled by ultra-progressive, soft on crime policies enacted by the D.C. Council and supported by the D.C. Attorney General,” he said.

    Comer also talked about other changes in D.C. law that had eliminated mandatory minimum sentences for most crimes as well as changes that restricted local police from pursuing criminals.

    “Officers cannot execute their duties as effectively, leaving morale, retention and recruitment numbers at historic lows for the Metro Police Department,” he said. “These actions send every signal to criminals, especially juveniles, that they can commit crimes in the district without accountability.”

    Trump has touted the law enforcement surge as a resounding success in driving down the city’s crime rate — an assertion Bowser has supported. But data showed that crime was already falling before the federal intervention.

    The city’s crime has been a central theme for Republicans, including Trump, who proclaimed the emergency in August because of what he described as “disgraceful” and out of control crime. Trump has threatened to issue another emergency order if Bowser follows through on her promise to not cooperate with immigration enforcement.

    Bills would realign D.C.’s criminal justice system

    At the hearing, the tone of questions from members of the committee depended on party affiliation. Democrats defended the leadership of the district’s leaders.

    Bowser’s appearance before the committee came one day after the House passed the legislation of what would be a major realignment of the district’s criminal justice system.

    The bills in question — including lowering the age at which juveniles can be charged as adults for some crimes to 14 from 16, as well as eliminating D.C.’s role in selecting judges and leaving that solely to the president, passed out of the committee last week. The House Rules Committee passed the same group of bills on Monday and the House, with a number of Democrats supporting the measures, approved the bills.

    The bills are not likely to get through the Senate filibuster but they are among the most comprehensive crime packages to advance in Congress in recent memory.

    D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson, also at the hearing, said Washington was “a city under siege.”

    “It is frustrating to watch this committee debate and vote on 14 bills regarding the district without a single public hearing, with no input from district officials or the public,” he said.

    D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb, who filed a lawsuit challenging the federal intervention, defended his juvenile crime prosecution record and used the hearing to clear up a misunderstanding on D.C. law regarding juveniles.

    The hearing included discussions about D.C.’s diversity, equality and inclusion programs, reparations and how to define womanhood, a reflection of how Congress has the power to control broad aspects of the capital’s day-to-day workings, should it choose to.

    GOP Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina pressed Bowser on a series of social policies and language she objected to in the district’s legal code. She argued those were causes for federal intervention into the city and said she was introducing legislation to address them.

    The five-hour plus hearing had moments of high-tension, primarily between committee members but there were moments of agreement. Under questioning from GOP Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida, Mendelson acknowledged that the additional federal authorities, such as the FBI and the DEA had brought crime down even more during the 30-day period.

    “The additional law enforcement resources has been good. We work with those different agencies all the time. There was more of it, more of a good thing.,” he said. “National Guard is separate. ICE is separate.”

    “The hearing was disgraceful in its characterization of the district,” Bowser told reporters after the hearing. “We know that the district is 700,000 people, great neighborhoods, great businesses, where people want to live, start businesses, send their kids to school and visit. Did the district have a crime spike in 2023? Yes. Have we driven down crime in the two years since? Yes. And so to characterize the district as some dystopian hell hole is categorically false.”

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    WTOP Staff

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  • Federal law enforcement surge presses ahead as DC waits for Congress to restore $1B in local funds – WTOP News

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    More National Guard troops are scheduled to arrive this month in D.C. and there are no signs the federal law enforcement surge will end any time soon.

    For all the latest developments in Congress, follow WTOP Capitol Hill correspondent Mitchell Miller at Today on the Hill.

    More National Guard troops are scheduled to arrive this month in D.C. and there are no signs the federal law enforcement surge will end any time soon, as Congress considers new legislation aimed at reducing crime in the District.

    At the same time, D.C. leaders can’t understand why the U.S. House has failed for months to address a budget glitch that left the District without $1 billion, which could help address public safety.

    “The president and Republicans in Congress intentionally limited D.C.’s ability to spend its own local funds,” said D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, raising the issue at a recent news conference, where she spoke out against the continuing presence of the National Guard in the District.

    Norton said the funding “could have further funded D.C. police, fire and emergency response services and other public safety issues.”

    Mayor Muriel Bower has said the District needs to hire 500 more police officers to get D.C. police to the level she believes is needed.

    Bowser has tried to balance Trump’s demands with the concerns of other D.C. leaders, who feel the president has gone too far in his crime crackdown.

    The president on Monday threatened to call a national emergency if D.C. doesn’t do more to cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

    Bowser is scheduled to testify Thursday with other D.C. leaders before the House Oversight Committee, which recently advanced several D.C. anticrime bills.

    WTOP recently reached out to Bowser’s office to get her thoughts on the House inaction on the D.C. funding matter.

    A spokesman referred to statements made earlier this year, when the mayor first learned about the problem, which led her to announce a hiring freeze and take several other actions to try to mitigate its impact.

    Could measure to avert government shutdown help DC get its money?

    House Speaker Mike Johnson had indicated earlier this year that the lower chamber would vote on the D.C. matter, after the U.S. Senate approved a measure to take care of the budget glitch. But that never happened.

    The White House, meanwhile, has sent House Republicans a list of things it would like to be addressed in a short-term spending bill to prevent a government shutdown, when funding runs out Sept. 30.

    One of the items — known as funding anomalies — is to restore the $1 billion to D.C. The request would include legislative language so that D.C. “has the authority to spend in FY 2026 funds received from local tax revenues” from its local budget.

    After the Senate took action earlier this year, the president indicated he had no problem with legislative action on behalf of D.C. But many House conservatives didn’t see a need to act on it and Johnson let the matter drop over the summer.

    It remains unclear whether the president’s request will be acted upon in a continuing resolution that House GOP leaders hope to take up later this week.

    Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland urged the House last month to vote on the D.C. budget fix, which he had sponsored in the Senate.

    Federal crime crackdown continues

    As D.C. leaders await word on whether the District will get its money, more National Guard troops are expected to arrive in D.C. any day now. Georgia’s Republican Gov. Brian Kemp has activated 300 National Guard troops.

    They are in addition to 2,300 National Guard personnel from D.C. and six other states. All the states that have sent National Guard units to the District are led by Republican governors.

    House Republicans, meanwhile, hope to approve several D.C. crime bills this week. One would allow those charged with some violent crimes at the age of 14 to be tried as adults. Another would make a change so that those over the age of 18 could not be treated as juveniles in connection with their punishment.

    The legislation also includes a bill that would loosen current restrictions on D.C. police carrying out vehicular chases of criminal suspects.

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    Mitchell Miller

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  • Washington Spirit supporters to continue chanting ‘Free DC’ despite end of federal surge – WTOP News

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    For the last three Washington Spirit home matches, Meredith Bartley has been keeping her eyes locked on the game clock.

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    Washington Spirit supporters to continue chanting ‘Free DC’ despite end of federal surge

    For the last three Washington Spirit home matches, Meredith Bartley has been keeping her eyes locked on the game clock.

    Once the game clock displays 51:00 — meaning the start of the 52nd minute of the game — Bartley, the president of the Spirit Squadron supporters group, will lead a stadiumwide chant that has become a rallying cry for D.C. residents since the start of President Donald Trump’s law enforcement surge in the District: “Free D.C.”

    “When the ’51’ shows on the clock, we get going, and it is stunningly fast to take over the whole stadium,” Bartley told WTOP. “I can’t even describe it. There’s nothing to compare it to with how quickly it takes over.”

    Spirit supporters have sung the “Free D.C.” chant at all four of its home matches at Audi Field during the surge. Now that it’s complete, Bartley said she and the rest of the Spirit Squadron will continue leading the chant as support for D.C. statehood.

    “The outpouring of support for this ‘Free D.C.’ chant has been amazing, and it’s one of the loudest times I’ve heard Audi, let alone the loudest organized chant, not just going crazy for a goal,” she said.

    It began after members of the Free D.C. organization reached out to the Squadron, the Spirit’s longest-serving supporters group, for a possible collaboration. Throughout the 2025 season, the supporters section at the Buzzard Point stadium displayed banners and signs in support of D.C. statehood.

    Once the two organizations came together, Bartley said the idea of chanting “Free D.C.” emerged organically the morning before the Spirit’s match against Racing Louisville on Aug. 15. It unfolded just days after Trump’s emergency order took effect, and was quickly communicated to the other three groups occupying the supporters’ section and posted on social media.

    ‘We love D.C.’

    Douglas Reyes-Ceron, co-founder of the Rose Room Collective fan group, said he was a little uncertain if fans would be engaged or receptive at first. However, as more supporters shared their support for the cause on social media, his feelings changed.

    “Living here, a lot of folks are just so tired and pissed at everything going on,” Reyes-Ceron said. “I think they’ve been looking for some kind of outlet to let loose on a little bit. And this has probably been one of the best expressions we’ve had publicly to like uniformly say, ‘No, we’re not here for this.’”

    Most chants and songs sung by Spirit fans are confined to the supporters section in the north stands, which has a capacity of 1,500. However, the “Free D.C.” chant became the only one sung stadiumwide, with the Spirit averaging around 14,000 fans per match.

    Fans start by singing the words “Free D.C.,” followed by a drumbeat. Once the clock displays 52 minutes, all of Audi Field cheers and applauds.

    The response to the chant garnered attention.

    Soon after the Louisville match, fans began bringing signs and banners, all in support of D.C. Bartley said other supporters around the National Women’s Soccer League sang the chant, including during the Spirit’s road match against Bay FC in San Francisco.

    Aaron Bland, of the Rose Room Collective, is a D.C. native. He called the use of the chant a “call to action” that was important for all fans to recognize, and hopes it continues even after “the occupation” is over.

    Washington Spirit fans began bringing signs and banners, all in support of D.C.

    “Even as simple as it being like a chant in the stadium, I think it’s just very meaningful and impactful,” Bland said. “To see it in the stadium and even reverberate in some markets outside of the city, too, it just means the world.”

    The Washington Spirit remains the only D.C.-area professional sports team to address the federal surge. In a statement addressed to the District, the soccer club said it would stand by the city: “As your neighbors, we walk beside you.”

    During his postgame news conference Sunday, head coach Adrián González called the chanting “something really powerful.”

    “We love D.C.,” González said. “We love the community and we (have) a great connection with our fans. We are very close, and I think it is something powerful that people can come to Audi Field and enjoy with their families. We are creating a safe space here.”

    Bartley said the plan is to continue leading a “Free D.C.” chant going forward “until D.C. is free,” with the goal of supporting a push for statehood for the District.

    Even if the federal emergency expired, Bartley said the presence of National Guard troops and House bills attempting to wrestle power over the city government means the battle for D.C.’s autonomy rages on.

    “We decided to do it, but we won’t decide to end it,” she said. “They’re coming after Home Rule next, and I think it’ll continue on, hopefully organically, until D.C. is free, which for us and for the Free D.C. group is statehood.”

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    Jose Umana

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  • DC restaurant owner hopes end of crime emergency will bring diners back – WTOP News

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    As Trump’s declaration of a crime emergency in D.C. comes to an end, one restaurant owner is hoping the change will help reverse a drop in business.

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    DC restaurant owner hopes end of crime emergency will bring diners back

    As President Donald Trump’s declaration of a crime emergency in D.C. comes to an end, one local restaurant owner is hoping the change will help reverse a drop in business.

    Andy Shallal, founder of Busboys and Poets, said his D.C. locations saw a 5% decline in revenue during the federal law enforcement surge, which is an especially tough hit during August, a month that’s already slow for restaurants.

    “We’ve seen a drop by 5% for the D.C. locations across the board. So it’s been tough, no doubt,” Shallal told WTOP. “With the margins of restaurants being so small, quite a substantial drop.”

    However, Trump has said that diners have voiced how safe they feel going out to eat during the surge, saying in mid-August that restaurants have been “busier than they’ve been in a long time.”

    Shallal gave a differing stance. He said since the surge began, his suburban locations saw an uptick in business, while the city locations struggled.

    “People are opting not to travel to come into D.C. is what it seems like. It puts fear in everybody’s mind,” he said.

    While the White House has said the emergency helped reduce crime and encouraged more people to visit restaurants, Shallal believes it also created fear and uncertainty.

    “Fear is created among customers that may want to come into the city,” he said. “It creates anxiety. It’s not good. These types of things are not good for business in general.”

    Though the end of the crime emergency declaration may not immediately reduce the number of National Guard troops or federal officers on the streets, Shallal hopes the optics of it being over will help restore confidence and bring people back to D.C.

    “In business, if you don’t know how to pivot, you die,” he said. “This will come out of the other side, I’m sure, stronger and better.”

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  • Weekly breakdown: Is Trump’s law enforcement surge really quelling crime in DC? – WTOP News

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    Tensions have grown in D.C. between the city’s government and the increased presence of federal law enforcement and National Guard troops.

    As we come to the end of the fourth week since President Donald Trump’s declaration of a crime emergency in D.C., tensions have grown between the city’s government and the increased presence of federal law enforcement and National Guard troops.

    On top of that, this week has seen everything from false claims that the president died to the release of thousands of files from the Jeffery Epstein case.

    So where does the District stand now? Let’s break it down:

    Monday

    Last week, President Trump threatened to deploy the National Guard to other major metropolitan cities around the country that he claims are also plagued by crime.

    Among them, the president targeted Baltimore, Maryland, calling it “a hellhole.”

    In an interview with ABC News, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore defended the state, doubling down on his statement that he would not allow the mobilization of Maryland’s National Guard.

    “I have no interest in fighting with the president, but I have an interest in fighting for my communities and fighting for our people,” Moore told ABC News’ “This Week.”

    He added that the president’s “offer” to deploy the National Guard is a waste of federal funding and that the deployment in D.C. is “performative.”

    The president praised D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser for working with federal forces, but repeated his criticism of Baltimore, saying “Baltimore’s a very unsafe place.”

    Tuesday

    Trump said on social media last week that the law enforcement surge has made D.C. “a crime free zone.” He doubled down at a press conference on Tuesday — his first in five days of radio silence — saying, “We have no crime.”

    However, in an order dated Sept. 2, Mayor Bowser said the city government would continue to coordinate with federal law enforcement “during and after the Presidential emergency,” signaling that the District may continue to see the presence of extra law enforcement working with city agencies.

    In the letter, the mayor laid out the role of the “Safe and Beautiful Emergency Operations Center,” or SBEOC, which is responsible for managing the city’s response to Trump’s “Safe and Beautiful Task Force.” Bowser said the center would community the city’s requests and work with multiple federal agencies to address its concerns.

    Many took the mayor’s letter as a nod that the District would continue operating differently under the federal law enforcement surge and that an extension was imminent.

    The Trump administration made it clear that they would, in the very least, try to make that happen.

    White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at a press conference on Tuesday that crime in D.C. “has plummeted and dangerous criminals are being removed from the streets every single night.”

    Congress returned to session Tuesday and multiple House Republicans made it clear that they’d be keeping the pressure on D.C. with the proposal of several pieces of legislation that would address crime.

    Wednesday

    On Wednesday, Mayor Bowser issued a clarification to her order outlining how the District will work with federal law enforcement after Sept. 10. She said the language of the letter that said the District would coordinate with federal law enforcement “during and after the Presidential emergency,” does not mean they expect an extension of Trump’s crime emergency.

    “It does the exact opposite. It lays out a framework to exit this period,” Bowser said in a post on X.

    She said the order simply meant to roll out the path the city government intends to take, acting as a framework for how they would work with federal agencies during “and after the emergency.”

    She also pushed back on the idea that the order welcomes a continued federal law enforcement surge in the city.

    D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton spoke at a press conference on Wednesday, calling for an immediate end to the deployment of over 2,000 National Guard troops in the District.

    “President Trump has used D.C. as props in a political play to showcase his own power,” Norton said, adding that the president’s recent actions are “unlawful, unwarranted and unprecedented.”

    Norton remains critical of the Trump administration, having introduced several bills and even asking Secretary of War Pete Hegseth for an estimate of the cost of the National Guard’s deployment.

    A previous estimate related to a National Guard deployment ordered by the president in 2020 indicated that it costs more than $500 per National Guard member. That would mean this deployment in D.C. likely costs more than $1 million a day.

    Despite her stance on the law enforcement surge, Norton said she did not disagree with the mayor that crime is actually falling. Recent numbers from the White House indicate there have been over 1,600 arrests since Aug. 11 when the surge began.

    Although no votes have been scheduled to determine the extension of the deployment and surge, a National Guard official said that D.C. troops have had their orders extended through December, the Associated Press reported.

    The official said that while the extension doesn’t mean that all 950 D.C. Guard troops will serve until the end of December, but it is a strong indication that their role is not winding down anytime soon. The order only applies to the nearly 950 members of D.C.’s National Guard, and not to the remaining thousand or so of guard members from other states.

    The National Guard official said leaders also are expected to begin putting out policies on leave and time off for deployed troops — another sign that military leaders expect the deployment to go on for a longer period of time.

    Thursday

    On Thursday, D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb sued the Trump administration in federal court, challenging the president’s deployment of National Guard members.

    Schwalb said in the lawsuit that the deployment of troops is an illegal use of the military and that what is happening in D.C. is a “military occupation.”

    “What the president is doing is illegal. He’s not respecting Congress, he’s not respecting Home Rule, he’s not respecting D.C. residents,” agreed At-Large D.C. Council member Robert White.

    Mayor Bowser said Thursday that her focus is on preparing for when the emergency ends, which under the law would be Sept. 10, unless Congress extends it.

    “This has been a legal question throughout the emergency, not just today. And I will just reiterate that my focus, and the focus of our emergency operations center, is on planning for the exit out of the emergency next week,” she said.

    As the possibility of an extended surge remains unclear, House Republicans continued with their push to lessen so called “soft on crime” tendencies from the D.C. government. On Thursday, Republicans on the House Oversight Committee said they were weighing 14 pieces of legislation that would overhaul criminal justice policies in D.C., the Washington Post reported.

    Some of the bills include repealing the District’s massive police reform bill, abolishing the role of D.C.’s elected attorney general and getting rid of the D.C. Judicial Nomination Commission, the Post reported.

    Still, no vote has been scheduled to extend Trump’s declaration of a crime emergency by Congress.

    Speaker of the House Mike Johnson said Thursday he’d be working with federal law enforcement agencies to resolve some issues, but made no comments on where they stand with the extension vote.

    Friday

    On Friday, Congress made it clear they would allow the president’s crime emergency declaration and the deployment of the National Guard expire ahead of its Sept. 10 deadline.

    Instead, House Republicans will focus on passing a slate of crime reform bills. Among them, they intend to toughen sentences for criminals and continue the beautification efforts of removing graffiti and restoring public monuments.

    In a release on Friday, House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) said the committee would hold a formal markup meeting on Sept. 10 to discuss the bills and “fulfill its constitutional duty to oversee District affairs and make D.C. safe again.”

    GOP leaders in the House and Senate haven’t seen a reason to act, given that Bowser is working with federal authorities and crime is steadily declining.

    However, Trump has indicated that he intends to keep the National Guard on D.C.’s streets for the foreseeable future.

    “Georgia is proud to stand with the Trump administration in its mission to ensure the security and beauty of our nation’s capital,” Kemp said in a statement, adding that the troops will go to D.C. “to aid in restoring public safety.”

    The White House reported there were 73 arrests overnight into Friday, among them an undocumented immigrant that is currently on the terrorist watchlist. They reported 10 firearms were also seized and a missing child was found.

    The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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    © 2025 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

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    Ciara Wells

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  • Clergy members gather in DC to pray and protest federal law enforcement surge – WTOP News

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    Members of the D.C. faith community gathered on Freedom Plaza, just steps from the White House and the Wilson Building, to both pray and protest the federal law enforcement surge in the nation’s capital.

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    Clergy gather in DC to pray and protest federal law enforcement surge

    On Thursday, members of D.C.’s faith community gathered on Freedom Plaza, just steps from the White House and the Wilson Building, to both pray and protest the federal law enforcement surge in the nation’s capital.

    The gathering comes amid a growing national debate over federal intervention in local policing in D.C.

    “We’ve gathered together today, God, to come against legislation and policies that would impose itself on the rights of the citizens of the District of Columbia,” said the Rev. Keith William Byrd Sr., pastor of the historic Zion Baptist Church in Northwest D.C.

    One by one, faith leaders stepped up to the microphone, offering prayers for the city and its leaders during what they called an “illegal occupation.”

    “Heavenly Father, we just ask you to be in this place right now — this place called the District of Columbia,” the Rev. Patricia Fears said.

    While the White House credits the deployment of federal officers and National Guard troops with helping reduce crime in the city, the faith leaders said they’re standing up against actions they called unconstitutional.

    “What we see going on is wrong. What we see is not right. It’s not constitutional. We cannot abide by it,” the Rev. Clarence Cross said.

    They were joined by D.C. Council members Matthew Frumin and Robert White, who stood with the crowd in prayer and song.

    “We’re here not just as elected officials, but as neighbors and allies,” Frumin said.

    “At some point, we will get to those pearly gates, and we will be asked what you did in this time. And I don’t know about you, but I know what my answer will be. It’s going to be that I did everything I could,” White said.

    Faith leaders said the vigil is just the beginning. Weekly prayer services and community forums are planned throughout September.

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    © 2025 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

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    Mike Murillo

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  • ‘This is not personal’: Maryland Gov. Moore joins WTOP to talk about his digs at Trump – WTOP News

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    Last week, President Donald Trump threatened to deploy the National Guard into other major Democratic cities, including Chicago, New Orleans and Baltimore, that he claims have “out of control” crime.

    Last week, President Donald Trump threatened to deploy the National Guard into other major Democratic cities, including Chicago, New Orleans and Baltimore, that he claims have “out of control” crime.

    Trump, who said earlier this week on social media that D.C. is now “crime free” as a result of his federal emergency declaration weeks ago, has his eyes set on sending in federal law enforcement to Baltimore, which he called a “hell hole” during a news conference Tuesday.

    Trump said, as president, he has “the right to do it, because I have an obligation to protect this country. And that includes Baltimore.”

    The pushback by leaders from the targeted cities and their state’s governors continues.

    Maryland Gov. Wes Moore joined WTOP’s Anne Kramer and Shawn Anderson to talk more about the president’s latest threats.

    Listen to the interview below:

    Maryland Gov. Wes Moore joined WTOP to discuss President Trump’s latest threats to deploy the National Guard in Baltimore.

    The transcript below has been lightly edited for clarity.

    • Anne Kramer:

      The President just said this week that the people of Baltimore want federal agents to come in and get crime under control in the city. He even called Baltimore a “hellhole.” Can you actually do something to stop the federal law enforcement coming into Baltimore? And if so, what can you do?

    • Maryland Gov. Wes Moore:

      That’s why I’ve been very clear that what the president is urging and what the president is talking about with the activation of the National Guard, it’s not sustainable. I mean, he is literally spending over a million dollars a day to have the National Guard raking mulch and picking up trash. That is not scalable, and that is also a violation of the 10th Amendment, and individual states’ rights.

      So my declaration that I will not authorize the Maryland National Guard to be able to patrol our cities, because it is not either mission aligned or mission critical, stands. And so we are very clear about what the Constitution holds and upholds, about where presidential limitations begin and end, and also what my responsibilities are as the Commander in Chief of the Maryland National Guard.

    • Shawn Anderson:

      Now, you’ve been pretty tough on President Trump here in the last few weeks. Are your responses the right way to go when it comes to handling the president, let’s say, compared to D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat as well. She seems to be walking the line much more carefully, even parsing her comments about the president.

      Tell us about the different approaches here in dealing with President Trump.

    • Moore:

      Well, this is not personal between myself and the president. I mean, the president’s attack, and frankly, the ignorant comments that he continues to make from the Oval Office, he’s trying to make it about me versus him. This is not, in my opinion, about anything about me and him. This is about me defending my people. This is about me protecting Marylanders.

      And when you’re making these comments saying Baltimore is a hell hole or a death scape; when you’re making comments about our children, saying that they’re “natural born killers”; when you’re talking about doing things like taking away Key Bridge funding that you never authorized in the first place; when you’re saying you’re not going to support our people in Western Maryland, who have had to endure historic floods; when you’re firing our federal workers — and Maryland has had more federal workers fired than any state in this country.

      When you’re coming after our people, people know that I’m a soldier, and I will fight for and protect our people, and that is all I’m doing. This is not about trying to fight Donald Trump. This is about me fighting for Marylanders.

    • Kramer:

      Is there any wiggle room there? So if President Trump came to you and said, “Hey, I acknowledge the fact that crime is getting under control in Baltimore. But would you like some more help from the federal agents? I could send them in.” Because, yes, violent crime, particularly murders, are down in Baltimore, but people in Baltimore City are still complaining about carjackings, armed robberies in places like Harbor East, Fells Point, Fed Hill. Any thoughts about that?

    • Moore:

      I’m very clear that my number one priority is public safety, and if one person does not feel safe, then we will stop at nothing to make sure that everybody in our communities are safe.

      We’re watching very encouraging results, and it’s not just homicides, it’s non-fatal shootings, it’s auto theft, it’s carjacking. It’s across the board, that year-on-year, we are down over 25% in pretty much every single statistical category within Baltimore and across our state. So we’re very proud of the progress that’s being made in the state of Maryland, even though we know the work is not done.

      And I have said to the president that we would we would absolutely and gratefully accept more federal support on things that actually make sense. And so instead of doing things like cutting $30 million from violence prevention programs, which he did, instead of doing things like proposing like in his proposed budget, where he cut funding for the FBI and the ATF, we would love to have more support for FBI and ATF and to get these illegal guns out of our neighborhoods and off of our streets.

      We would love to be able to have more support for local law enforcement, the way that in our state budget, I have actually increased funding for local law enforcement by historic numbers in the state of Maryland. We would absolutely welcome more federal supports. But what I do not want is performative measures like advancing the National Guard inside of our communities to do jobs that they’re not even trained for.

    • Anderson:

      President Trump has said he would consider withholding funding for the replacement Key Bridge in this war of words with you. Can he do that?

    • Moore:

      The president never authorized funding for the Key Bridge, so the president can’t take away funding for the Key Bridge.

      Key Bridge funding was authorized through Congress, and Congress was the ones, both Republicans and Democrats, who understood that the Port of Baltimore is a crucial avenue to our American economy, that two thirds of the country receive their goods from the Port of Baltimore, and the Key Bridge is an absolutely historic and important measure to make sure that you have a fully functioning Port of Baltimore.

      And so the President of the United States does not have the authority to pull funding for the Key Bridge. Only Congress can do that, and I don’t think Congress would want to hamstring the American economy by making a decision like pulling away from the 100% cost share and agreement that we have between the state of Maryland and our federal government.

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  • WATCH: ICE raids create anxiety for teachers, parents, students in DC schools – WTOP News

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    One week after classes began, D.C. schools are working to address fears from parents, students and staff over raids by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and a surge of federal law enforcement in the District.

    President Donald Trump’s administration has put a focus on reducing illegal immigration and crime in D.C. That emphasis on crime reduction has also brought thousands of National Guard troops to the nation’s capital.

    Watch the video below from CNN.

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  • New GOP anti-crime bills in Congress will focus on DC – WTOP News

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    President Donald Trump wants Republican congressional leaders to develop a comprehensive crime bill to tackle public safety issues in D.C. and other cities.

    For all the latest developments in Congress, follow WTOP Capitol Hill correspondent Mitchell Miller at Today on the Hill.

    President Donald Trump wants Republican congressional leaders to develop a comprehensive crime bill to tackle public safety issues in D.C. and other cities, once they return next week from their summer break.

    The president said this week that he had discussed anti-crime measures with House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune.

    Johnson said Friday that crime legislation taking shape will focus on D.C., where close to 2,000 National Guard troops remain posted throughout the city, as part of the federal law enforcement surge.

    “We’ve got to end the crime wave, we’ve got to clean up the city and we’ve got to make sure that it shines as it should,” Johnson said in an interview on CNN.

    While the president has suggested a major crime bill, it appears GOP lawmakers will begin by taking up various bills covering issues in D.C.

    Johnson and Republicans have indicated they will take up reforms to address juvenile crime in the District, as well as getting rid of cashless bail.

    Cashless bail allows those accused of crimes to remain free pending their trial, without posting bond.

    Bowser to testify before House panel

    The House Oversight Committee has set a Sept. 18 hearing during which D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, Council Chair Phil Mendelson and Attorney General Brian Schwalb are scheduled to testify.

    They are expected to be grilled about the District’s efforts to bring down crime and how they have worked with federal law enforcement.

    The hearing will take place after a 30-day deadline expires for extending the federal surge. Congress needs to vote on approving extension of the deadline by Sept. 10.

    The president has indicated he wants his declared crime emergency to continue. The White House has pointed to a major drop in crime since the surge began, including a 30% drop in violent crime.

    Bowser has said she appreciates the federal support and credits it for helping to continue falling crime rates. But she has questioned the need for the National Guard presence and masked agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement making arrests.

    Speaker Johnson questioned about crime in his state

    During his appearance on CNN, Johnson was asked about crime in his Louisiana congressional district. Figures indicated that violent crime per capita in Shreveport was higher last year than in D.C.

    Part of Shreveport is in Johnson’s 4th District and he was asked whether the president should send the National Guard there.

    Johnson acknowledged crime has been a problem in the city but declined to say whether he thought the president should send federal troops there.

    “That’s not my call,” he said.

    Pressed further, he added, “I don’t know, let’s take one city at a time and see.”

    The administration has indicated that if federal troops are activated and sent to another city, it would likely be Chicago. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker has said there is no need to send in the National Guard, which he could activate himself.

    In D.C., the president has the power to activate the National Guard. The mayor does not have that power.

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  • ‘Bizarre nightmare’: DC judges react to cases from Trump’s DC federal intervention – WTOP News

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    President Donald Trump’s crackdown on crime in the nation’s capital has generated a torrent of charges against people caught up in a surge of street patrols.

    WASHINGTON (AP) — A grand jury refused to indict a man who was captured on video hurling a sandwich at a federal agent. Prosecutors dropped another case after complaints that police illegally searched a man’s satchel and found a gun. Judges, too, have balked at keeping several defendants in jail, citing weak evidence and dubious charging decisions.

    President Donald Trump’s crackdown on crime in the nation’s capital has generated a torrent of charges against people caught up in a surge of street patrols. Judges, defense attorneys and even grand jurors are already poking holes in many cases.

    “I’ve seen things over the past 72 hours that I’ve never seen in federal court,” U.S. District Judge Zia Faruqui said Wednesday during a hearing for a man who was jailed for five days on a misdemeanor marijuana possession charge. Later, he added: “It feels like some sort of bizarre nightmare.”

    Civil liberties are at stake, legal figures say

    Trump has framed the three-week-old operation as a campaign to eradicate rampant crime and “take our capital back.” The judges and lawyers adjudicating the criminal cases say they’re striving to strike a delicate balance between protecting public safety and preserving civil liberties.

    Teams of federal agents and troops are patrolling the streets of Washington, D.C., helping police arrest hundreds of people. The courts are struggling to keep up with the burgeoning caseload. Some people have been held in jail for days while waiting to appear before a federal judge in district court.

    Edwin Jonathan Rodriguez, a 25-year-old recent college graduate, has a permit to carry a concealed firearm in Maryland. But he spent eight days in jail after police stopped his car near The Wharf neighborhood in Washington on Aug. 19 and said they found his registered gun, around 20 ounces of marijuana and drug paraphernalia.

    U.S. Magistrate Judge G. Michael Harvey wasn’t buying the government’s contention that Rodriguez is a dangerous drug dealer.

    “The cases in which drug dealers register their guns are exceptionally rare,” Harvey said as he ordered Rodriguez’s release. “The government’s case has got some challenges.”

    Police officers and unspecified “federal partners” stopped Rodriguez because he was driving a Lexus with a license plate on the back but not the front of the vehicle, prosecutors said in a court filing. Defense attorney Joseph Scrofano accused law enforcement of jumping to baseless conclusions about the contents of the car.

    “We don’t hold people based on assumptions,” Scrofano said. “We hold people based on evidence.”

    Rodriguez, a budding architect who graduated from Morgan State University in December, doesn’t have a criminal record. But he faces a charge that carries a mandatory minimum prison sentence of five years if he’s convicted.

    The number of those arrested is rising

    The White House says over 1,200 people have been arrested and 135 firearms have been seized since the surge started on Aug. 7. The city’s police department says crime rates have plunged in the district, including a 60% decrease in carjackings, a 56% drop in robberies and a 58% reduction in violent crimes as of Wednesday compared to the same one-week period in 2024.

    Over 30 people arrested during the crackdown have been charged in district court, where the most serious crimes are prosecuted. Approximately half of them are charged with assaulting officers, agents or National Guard members, according to an Associated Press review of court records. The rest are charged with illegally possessing guns, drugs or both.

    The volume of cases in district court pales in comparison to the aftermath of the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, which led to charges against nearly 1,600 people in the same courthouse. But the riot arrests were staggered across four years and all 50 states, easing the burden on the court.

    Former federal prosecutor Michael Romano, who spent more than 17 years at the Justice Department and helped supervise Capitol riot prosecutions, said he never had a grand jury refuse to return an indictment in one of his cases. He said the Trump administration’s efforts to appear tough on crime may have backfired with many D.C. residents, who serve on federal grand juries.

    “Sometimes when you arrest people with scant evidence and you overcharge them, the community doesn’t like it and the evidence won’t support it,” said Romano, who resigned from the department earlier this year. “This illustrates the danger of having a Justice Department where attorneys can’t do their job and can’t properly evaluate whether cases are going to be good or not.”

    ‘We will not simply go along with the flow’

    At least three people have been arrested on assault charges for spitting on federal agents or troops on patrol. A viral video captured a Justice Department attorney hurling a “sub-style” sandwich at a Customs and Border Protection agent. But a grand jury refused to indict him on a felony charge — an extraordinarily rare failure for prosecutors.

    “Grand juries, judges, we will not simply go along with the flow,” Faruqui said.

    He questioned why people have been locked up for days for relatively minor offenses that typically aren’t handled in district court. Faruqui said he shared his concerns with the leadership of U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s office and hopes they can reduce the waits for detention hearings and initial court appearances.

    Earlier this week, Pirro and Faruqui verbally sparred over her office’s handling of a case against a man who was arrested at a Trader Joe’s supermarket last month. Police officers said they followed Torez Riley into the grocery store and found two unregistered guns inside his satchel. He was charged with being a felon in possession of firearms, but Pirro’s office dropped the case a week later.

    During a hearing Monday, Faruqui said he was “absolutely flabbergasted” that Riley was jailed for a week before his case was dismissed. He said it was “without a doubt the most illegal search I have ever seen in my life.”

    Pirro, a former Fox News host whom Trump appointed in May to lead the nation’s largest U.S. Attorney’s office, responded with a statement accusing Faruqui of having “a long history of bending over backwards to release dangerous felons in possession of firearms.”

    On Thursday, Harvey ordered the release of a man who was arrested on Aug. 16 after a traffic stop by members of the U.S. Park Police and U.S. Marshals Service. The magistrate pressed a prosecutor to explain why the driver, Amarian Langston, was charged with illegally possessing a handgun that officers found beside a road after he crashed the vehicle. The prosecutor, Kyle McWaters, acknowledged that nobody saw Langston toss the weapon.

    Prosecutors separately charged Langston’s girlfriend in D.C. Superior Court, which hears less serious cases and is handling the bulk of the surge-related arrests. McWaters said the law allows the government to charge both with illegally possessing the same gun even though it allegedly belonged to the girlfriend.

    Said McWaters: “I’m not saying it’s an easy hill to climb, your honor.”

    Copyright
    © 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.

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  • As President Trump criticizes DC streets, mayor says they’ve made major progress – WTOP News

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    In the weeks since the federal law enforcement surge in D.C. started, President Donald Trump has frequently criticized the city’s infrastructure, particularly its roads and medians.

    In the three weeks since the federal law enforcement surge in D.C. started, President Donald Trump has frequently criticized the city’s infrastructure, particularly its roads and medians, and is promising to fix it.

    Mayor Muriel Bowser, though, said the city has made significant strides in upgrading its local roads and alleys over the last decade.

    In the Oval Office on Monday, while signing an executive order about cashless bail, Trump said D.C. streets have been “swept immaculate, but they’re going to be much better in few months, when we put a topping on, they’re going to look brand new.”

    Trump’s comments about D.C. roads come about five months after his late March executive order aimed at making D.C. safe and beautiful. The order called for a “coordinated beautification plan” for federal and local roads in and around D.C. It included plans for a coordinated federal and local approach to ensure roads stay clean.

    But in the last decade, according to city data, D.C. has repaved over 850 miles of roads and almost 400 miles of sidewalks.

    “I have had a significant effort on improving infrastructure, especially alleys, local streets, trees, lights throughout the District,” Bowser said during a news conference Wednesday.

    Over half of all local roads and alleys were in poor or fair condition in 2015, the city said. Currently, 79% of local streets are in good or excellent condition, and 87% of alleys are in excellent or good condition.

    On Monday, Trump said the administration will “get rid of those rusty old medians that have been crashed into 1,000 times, and they don’t fix them. They just … lay them down on the road, and they sit there for months. But we don’t do that.”

    During remarks on Friday, Trump said Clark Construction has been picked to help with plans to beautify the city. He’s seeking $2 billion from Congress to fund that.

    While the details are unclear, Bowser said the city “will be supportive of the president’s $2 billion request to improve infrastructure, especially federal infrastructure, in the District.”

    Bowser described her Wednesday conversation with Trump as a “very high-level conversation.”

    As for whether infrastructure was discussed, Bowser said, “I wouldn’t say it’s any different than what he’s already said about roads, medians and grass.”

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    © 2025 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

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  • Dept. of Interior aims to hire 100 officers to bolster US Park Police ranks – WTOP News

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    With plans to onboard at least 100 new officers through lateral transfers, the U.S. Park Police aims to quickly bolster its force amid rising demands on federal law enforcement.

    The union that represents U.S. Park Police officers said it is seeing a new urgency from the Department of the Interior to address what it calls a “critical shortage” of officers in the D.C. region.

    The new momentum to bring on new officers comes after an executive order from President Donald Trump on Monday as the federal law enforcement surge in the nation’s capital continues.

    Chair of the U.S. Park Police Fraternal Order of Police Ken Spencer called it the most movement he’s seen from the Interior in his over six years of sounding the alarm about the staffing shortage.

    “They are taking proactive steps to try and hire more police officers for our agency very quickly,” Spencer told WTOP.

    Spencer said since the increase in presence of law enforcement began, there have been visits by Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum at roll calls for officers, including one during which he was joined by President Trump. But he said talks to staff up truly got underway following the executive order.

    Last week, Spencer told WTOP the department, which patrols the National Mall and several area parkways, has been working in the D.C. region with 294 officers, when it should have 436.

    Spencer said he has been told the goal is to bring on at least 100 new officers quickly, which he believes will happen through lateral transfers. He said those hires involve bringing in police officers who work at other area police departments to reduce training time.

    “Put them through some sort of agency-specific training … approximately five or six weeks of training with U.S. Park Police — specific general orders and training,” Spencer said. “Then go through our field training process, where they could just get on the street and start working quickly.”

    With new recruits without police experience, he said it takes roughly a year to turn them into street-ready officers.

    While not confirming how many new officers will be quickly hired this year, in a statement to WTOP, Department of the Interior Deputy Press Secretary Aubrie Spady said the administration is “bolstering staffing and resources” and is “fast-tracking” recruitment efforts to “quickly grow the force.”

    “Morale is high among the U.S. Park Police as the Trump administration backs law enforcement with real action,” Spady wrote. “Our dedicated Park Police are excited to welcome these new additions who are joining the mission to protect our nation’s capital.”

    While getting new officers in place will take some of the stress off the current force, Spencer said there are challenges with quickly onboarding officers, even if they have law enforcement experience.

    “Of course, we’re trying to work out the logistics, because we’re not only just understaffed with sworn law enforcement, but we’re also understaffed with support personnel and training officers that can come in and help train new recruits at a quicker pace than what we’ve been doing,” he said.

    Spencer said he believes this will be the most officers the department has brought on in a year. Before this, he only recalls one year when 72 officers were brought onto the force over the course of a year.

    To bring in officers, especially those who work at other departments, Spencer said the move would need to be incentivized.

    Signing bonuses are likely, Spencer said, but he said those alone will not bring officers over or retain currently with the department.

    Spencer said proposals should include retention bonuses, competitive pay for officers, allow officers to take patrol cars home and reduce the years an officer needs to work to receive a pension from 30 to 22 years.

    “We have looked at other law enforcement agencies, at what they’re doing, like the D.C. police. We’ve looked at what Capitol Police has done over the years, the Secret Service Uniform Division — we’re looking to get somewhere in that ballpark,” Spencer said.

    Spencer said the call for the “U.S. Park Police Modernization Act,” a House bill that he said aims to modernize the pay and retirement structure for officers, to be passed by Congress remains.

    “If they just throw a big lump sum of money at us and try and say, ‘Hey, just hire some officers,’ that’s not going to fix the core problem,” he said. “The problem is officers are walking out the door and going somewhere else for greener pastures.”

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