Congress has not scheduled a vote to extend President Trump’s 30-day federalization of the Metropolitan Police Department as the expiration date looms.
Trump’s control over DC police is set to expire next week on September 10 if Congress doesn’t act.
President Trump, on August 11 signed an executive order declaring a “crime emergency” and invoking powers under section 740 of the DC Home Rule Act to federalize the police. The Home Rule Act requires Congressional approval for the President to federalize the police for more than 30 days.
However, earlier this week, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser signed an executive order for local law enforcement to work with federal officials indefinitely.
Bowser previously admitted that Trump’s crackdown on crime in the city was helpful and effective. “Neighborhoods feel safer and are safer, so this surge has been important to us,” Bowser admitted.
Lawmakers reportedly think the Mayor’s cooperation is enough, and Trump has largely remained silent on the issue of extending the takeover.
Per the Associated Press:
Congress would have to approve an extension, and Republicans on Capitol Hill have no plans to do so in the next week. Still, House Republicans plan to move forward with a raft of bills that would tighten federal control over the city, including tougher sentences for criminals and a Trump-led effort to “beautify the district” by removing graffiti and restoring public monuments.
Kentucky Rep. James Comer, the Republican chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, said that “together with President Trump,” the panel will “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, according to aides who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations, and Trump has so far not publicly urged them to seek an extension.
Congressional Democrats have protested the takeover. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, the city’s nonvoting representative, has pushed legislation to give the city full control of its police department. Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen introduced a similar bill in the Senate, saying that Trump is “playing dictator in our nation’s capital.”
Meanwhile, DC Attorney General Brian Schwalb is suing the Trump administration to remove National Guard troops from the capital. The Trump Administration has still extended the deployment of troops through November 30.
His lawsuit, which has been assigned to a radical Biden judge, ridiculously argues that the troops are actually “putting public safety at risk.”
JUST IN: DC Attorney General Sues Trump to Stop National Guard Deployment – Claims Troops “Put Public Safety at Risk”
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