Will Congress Extend Trump’s DC Crime Crackdown Authority?

Returning to the Capitol after a monthlong recess, lawmakers face a tough question: Whether or not to extend President Donald Trump’s 30-day control of Washington.

Under the District of Columbia Home Rule Act of 1973, Trump’s authority to control D.C.’s law enforcement expires on Sept. 10, after which it will require approval from Congress to continue.

On Tuesday, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser appeared to delay any confrontation between the city and the federal government with an order to local law enforcement to cooperate with federal law enforcement “to the maximum extent allowable by law within the District.”

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., has already teased moving legislation to support the president’s powers in D.C., saying on Fox News that Republicans would bring “legislation to the floor in the next few weeks to address that issue first—that city—to deal with juvenile crime … and to talk about these restrictive policing policies that have prevented law enforcement from maintaining the safety on the streets for residents and visitors.” 

But Rep. Keith Self, R-Texas, a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, told The Daily Signal he’s not sure that authority should continue.

“I’m not sure we ought to extend it, because apparently it’s been very successful. And if it’s been very successful, let’s turn it back over to the local governance,” Self said.

He added that Washington “is a federal enclave that does require congressional oversight and presidential oversight, but if it’s been as successful as it supposedly has been, let’s turn it back over to them and see if they’re ready to assume their responsibilities.”

Self further suggested that deploying the National Guard in the District of Columbia is not a long-term solution.

“We don’t want to deploy National Guard for long term on domestic issues anywhere, to include a federal enclave,” he said.

At a news conference held by the Republican Study Committee, a caucus to which a majority of House Republicans belong, members also suggested that they were still having discussions about extending the president’s powers.

Rep. Harriett Hageman, R-Wyo., appeared to imply that the returning congressmen had not reached consensus on their next step in the matter.

“I think that all of us working together will be coming up with additional bills to address specifically the crime situation in our nation’s capital,” she said, adding:

 I know that this is our first day back after our August recess. We will be discussing what happens after the expiration of the 30-day-period that is allowed for in the Home Rule Act with the president.

I know that I will be working with my colleagues here to determine what the next step is in that regard.

But Hageman did appear to agree with Self on one thing—that, ultimately, it’s up to the local leaders to determine how they handle crime.

“It’s up to the governors and the mayors of those communities as to whether they’re going to protect their citizens—or they’re going to protect the criminals,” she told reporters. “We have seen with the surge in the last 30 days in Washington, D.C., that law enforcement on the streets works. We know that. This is common sense. The mayors and the governors need to step up in places like Chicago, L.A., Atlanta.”

Should Republicans seek to extend Trump’s authority in Washington, they will likely run into trouble in the Senate, where 60 votes, including those of several Democrats, would be required to end debate.

Such bipartisan cooperation is highly unlikely. 

On Tuesday, Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin and Sen. Tammy Duckworth, both D-Ill., joined seven Democrat House members in signing a letter that condemned Trump’s crime crackdown in Washington, as well as any potential crackdown in Chicago.

“Abuses of government and military power to target and punish dissent are the tools of authoritarians,” reads the letter to Trump. “We demand you suspend any plans for the deployment of military personnel to Chicago and cease your unlawful power grabs and Executive Branch overreach.”

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