As the entire country knows, President Donald Trump federalized Washington, D.C. in an effort to reduce crime in the city.
For all intents and purposes, the crackdown is working, but some D.C. officials are still fighting back.
D.C. Attorney General, Brian Schwalb, has just filed a suit against the administration to have the National Guard presence in the city removed.
While D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser had clearly been coerced by the powers that be in the party to dump all over Trump, calling him an “authoritarian,” the crackdown he initiated has been effective.
The city went on a nearly two-week stretch without a murder, and there have “only” been three murders over the holiday, which is astonishing when you look at numbers from past years.
After the first two weeks of the crackdown, Bowser updated everyone, stating, "For carjackings, the difference between this period, this 20-day period of this federal surge and last year represents an 87% reduction in carjackings in Washington, D.C.”
She continued, “We know that when carjackings go down, when use of gun goes down, when homicide or robbery go down, neighborhoods feel safer and are safer. So, this surge has been important to us for that reason."
One of the aspects of the crackdown that I love is the manhunt for those who have existing warrants so that they can be pulled off the street.
On Wednesday night alone, more than 80 wanted suspects were taken off the streets of D.C., bringing the total arrests to 1,841 since Trump stepped in.
White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers stated, “Thanks to President Trump, some of the most dangerous criminals who have committed heinous crimes have been removed from the streets of Washington, D.C.”
Rogers continued, “For far too long, these criminals have been able to commit crime after crime without any accountability -- but President Trump has restored law and order to our nation’s capital.”
With the mayor admitting that the president's strategy is working and with residents finally able to walk around their streets at night feeling safe, one would think local officials would back off, but they are getting even more aggressive in going after Trump.
Schwalb is now suing the administration over the presence of the National Guard, arguing, "Armed soldiers should not be policing American citizens on American soil. DC did not request or consent to the deployment of National Guard troops. Yet there are 2,300 National Guardsmen on our streets in military gear, carrying weapons, and driving armored vehicles."
To be clear, the National Guard are not actually policing the city, but rather being used as a means of support and deterrence. If officials are going to come after Trump, the least they can do is come properly and not lie about what is happening.
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson responded, "President Trump is well within his lawful authority to deploy the National Guard in Washington, D.C. to protect federal assets and assist law enforcement with specific tasks.” By law, Trump has 30 days, but that can be extended by Congress.
