Congress did not extend President Donald Trump’s Aug. 11 order that federalized the Washington, D.C., city police force and launched a surge of law enforcement into the city. The takeover will end at midnight, according to Mayor Muriel Bowser’s office.
In practical terms, what citizens see might not change much: D.C. guard members’ orders have been extended through December, and they are under the president’s direct command, unlike in the states, where governors command their National Guard contingents.
Meanwhile, a House committee has begun debating 13 bills that, if approved, would wrest away even more of the city’s governing ability. Republicans argue that continued federal intervention is needed to bring safety to the nation’s capital and is justified by D.C.’s unique status as subject to the authority of Congress.
Trump’s takeover of D.C.’s policing and Wednesday’s discussions by the House underscore how interlinked the nation’s capital is with the federal government and how much the city’s capacity to govern is beholden to federal decisions.
Other news we’re following today:
- Transit secretary probes North Carolina transit after killing: Following the killing of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska on a Charlotte train last month, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has threatened to pull federal funding if his department’s investigation finds security problems in the North Carolina city’s mass transit system. Charlotte’s mayor called for a “bipartisan solution” to address repeat criminal offenders.
- Detained Hyundai plant workers: South Korean media reports a charter plane has left for the U.S. to bring back Korean workers detained in an immigration raid in Georgia. A total of 475 workers, more than 300 of them South Koreans, were rounded up in the Sept. 4 raid at the Hyundai battery plan. South Korea’s government later said it reached an agreement with the U.S. for the release of the workers.
- Lisa Cook to remain Fed governor for now: A federal judge ruled Tuesday that the embattled Federal Reserve governor can remain in her position while she fights Trump’s efforts to fire her. The ruling, which will almost certainly be appealed, is a blow to the Trump administration’s efforts to assert more control over the traditionally independent Fed, which sets short-term interest rates to achieve its congressionally mandated goals of stable prices and maximum employment.