President Donald Trump could threaten to withhold federal funding for Washington, D.C., if Mayor Muriel Bowser and the city council fail to support the president's efforts to crack down on local crime, according to some Republicans on Capitol Hill.
Trump on Monday said he was putting Washington's police department under federal control and ordering the National Guard to deploy to the nation's capital to combat what he said is a wave of lawlessness.
Bowser on Tuesday said D.C. must "protect our city and to protect our autonomy, to protect our Home Rule, and get to the other side of this guy, and make sure we elect a Democratic House so that we have a backstop to this authoritarian push," CNN reported.
Although some conservative lawmakers have called for Congress to federalize the city, that would need 60 votes and the support of at least seven Democrats to pass the Senate, The Hill reported.
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., are among people backing legislation that would repeal the 1973 District of Columbia Home Rule Act, which gives the city the right to elect its own government and manage local affairs.
"This isn't just a local issue — it's a national embarrassment, and the Constitution itself makes it a national issue. Federal oversight will restore order and make DC a model city again," Lee posted Monday night on X.
GOP lawmakers could force Bowser and the D.C. Council to make significant concessions in return for more than $1 billion in funding to clear the House.
"I can see that being an anomaly in a [continuing resolution]," a GOP strategist told The Hill.
The strategist added that Trump could request more federal oversight of Washington's Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) in exchange for funding to hire more officers.
Republican aides told The Hill that a Trump priority would be to press D.C. to eliminate no-cash bail. The president also wants teenagers accused of serious crimes prosecuted as adults and stricter policies that mandate pretrial detention of adults and teenagers accused of such crimes.
It was reported late last month that a proposed GOP spending bill would repeal Washington, D.C.'s, assisted suicide law, do away with noncitizen voting in the district, and prohibit D.C. from using traffic cameras or ban right turns on red lights.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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