Capitol Hill prepares for high-stakes battle over Trump crime package, DC police authority
Lawmakers are gearing up for a crime bill from the White House as President Donald Trump’s crackdown on crime in Washington D.C. marches on.
Trump hinted that he would be sending a package to Congress in the near future on Wednesday geared toward his administration’s continued push to make the district a "beacon" for other blue cities, but gave little detail as to what he may want to see in the legislation.
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"We think the Democrats will not do anything to stop crime, but we think the Republicans will do it almost unanimously," Trump said. "So we're going to need a crime bill that we're going to be putting in, and it's going to pertain initially to D.C."
He also noted that "we're going to seek a relatively small amount of money" to fix potholes and generally spruce up the district.
Shortly after Trump’s announcement, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said that he had spoken with the president, Attorney General Pam Bondi and White House staff on "how Congress can help make Washington D.C. safe again."
"At the direction of President Trump," Bondi said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "This Department of Justice will continue to work with MPD, federal law enforcement and Congress to address the scourge of violent crime in Washington, D.C. and ensure the safety of all Americans visiting or living in our Nation’s capital."
Graham noted that the White House was working on a package to send to him and Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., the chair of the Homeland Security appropriations subcommittee.
"Together, we will try to shepherd the D.C. Security Fund through Congress to give President Trump the resources he will need to improve the safety and quality of life in our nation’s capital," Graham said on X. "Every American should be behind this effort to make Washington D.C. clean and safe so that it can truly become the shining city on the hill."
Whether the package would become a part of a spending bill, or be its own standalone supplemental funding package, is unclear, and when lawmakers would actually get their hands on a request is also up in the air.
The White House referred Fox News Digital back to the president's prior comments on the bill.
Lawmakers are not set to return to Washington until after Labor Day and will be met immediately by the fast-approaching deadline to fund the government on Sept. 30.
They’ll also have to deal with an expected request from Trump to extend his control of the D.C. police — the president has only 30 days unless Congress grants him an extension with a joint resolution.
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Republicans are broadly supportive of granting him more time to crack down on crime in the Capitol, but a joint resolution likely requires 60 votes in the Senate, and Senate Democrats are signaling that they won’t budge and allow Trump to further consolidate his grip on Washington.
Still, Trump suggested that he would trigger a national emergency declaration to circumvent Congress, which some congressional Republicans have already come out in support of.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., declared "No f‑‑‑--- way" during a podcast appearance when asked about an extension, and Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., told Fox News Digital in a statement that Trump’s move to federalize Washington D.C. was "political theater."
"He is doing nothing but creating chaos and ignoring the progress local officials in D.C. have made lowering crime," Durbin said. "And now, he is saying he wants to side-step Congress to extend control of the MPD. There are currently no ‘special conditions of an emergency nature’ in D.C., which the President has to claim in order to take federal control of MPD under the Home Rule Act. This is unprecedented and nothing more than a power grab."
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