Washington, DC – Today, the President of the United States has taken the unprecedented and unnecessary step to utilize the services of the Metropolitan Police Department through a declaration of a federal state of emergency. Further, he intends to deploy DC National Guard troops to the streets of DC. Let’s be clear, there is no emergency in the nation’s capital necessitating federal occupation.  

The District is at a 30-year low in terms of violent crime. Our homicide rate has experienced a 12% drop from 2024 to 2025, robberies are down 28% over this same time period, and DC has also experienced a 26% drop in violent crime overall. Washington, DC is a world-class city home to 700,000 residents. No large urban city is perfect, and while we do have some public safety challenges, none of them amounts to the need for this response by the federal government.  

For decades, DC has been used as a petri dish by Congress and presidential administrations to try out a variety of policies. Without statehood, we are limited in our ability to prevent or deter these repeated federal incursions; however, the President outlined an entirely new level of interference. Today, the President’s remarks suggested that MPD and federal law enforcement officers do not need to follow the Constitution or standard operating procedures in the course of their duties. That would be unlawful, and it should be concerning to all Americans that the President might employ this approach in other American cities.

The District and the federal government have a history of working cooperatively on a variety of issues facing the nation’s capital. Here are some actual solutions that we would welcome our federal partners to take on in our efforts to further reduce crime rate in the District:  

• Nominating and swiftly confirming qualified judges for DC Superior Court and the DC Court of Appeals – where there is currently a 20% judicial vacancy impeding swift justice on cases;

• Honest oversight and investments in the federal Pretrial Services Agency, which handles the monitoring of individuals charged in the District but released pretrial;  

• Passing S. 1077, the District of Columbia Local Funds Act, which allows DC to spend its locally raised Fiscal Year 2025 funds in accordance with our approved budget, especially on public safety and human services;  

• Continued partnership between local, regional, and federal authorities on joint operations to address illegal gun and drug trafficking in DC;  

• Provide the National Park Service with the resources to maintain and patrol their respective properties within DC; and

• Federal investment to rebuild the DC jail, which is used both locally and by the federal government.  
  

Since I became a Councilmember in 2021, the Council has passed multiple laws to address and reduce violent crime. The data suggests our efforts have been working. We will continue to be responsive to the needs of our residents when it comes to public safety.