President Donald Trump says he will ask Congress for a "long-term extension" of the federalization of D.C.'s police, a day after National Guard troops began deploying in the city.
"If it's a national emergency we can do it without Congress, but we expect to be to before Congress very quickly," Trump said Wednesday during a speech at the Kennedy Center.
"We think the Democrats will not do anything to stop crime, but we think the Republicans will do it almost unanimously, 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 added.
"We're going to use it as a very positive example and we're going to be asking for extensions on that long-term extension because you can't have 30 days. ... I don't want to call a national emergency. If I have to, I will, but I think the Republicans in congress will approve this pretty much unanimously," he added.
Trump also said the National Guard in D.C. will serve as a "beacon" for other major cities, including New York and Los Angeles.
"We are going to do something and it's going to serve as a beacon for New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and other places all over the country," Trump said. "Our whole country is going to be so different and so great."
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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