Will Trump’s DC takeover end on Sept 10 or can he find a new way? Congress not planning a vote

While the US President Donald Trump’s administration continues to police the country’s capital, Washington, DC, reports are emerging that the leaders of both the House and the Senate are not planning to hold votes to extend Trump’s control over the city’s police. The report is coming at a time when the deadline of the DC takeover is inching closer.

The news is also coming on the heels of DC Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) ordering indefinite coordination between local and federal law enforcement officials and projecting confidence in the city’s ability to handle public safety without any form of intervention from federal authorities.

If Congress allows the Trump administration’s grip on the department to come to an end, it will close one chapter in the tussle between local and federal officials vying for control of public safety in the capital. “This is by mutual agreement with the White House,” a senior Senate staffer familiar with the matter told The Washington Post on the decision not to hold an extension vote.

The tussle mellows down

The staffer, who asked to remain anonymous, told The Washington Post that the White House was “mollified by Bowser’s promise of cooperation and support.” Before taking over the capital, Trump claimed that Washington, DC, is overrun with “bloodthirsty criminals.” He declared a crime emergency in the capital and placed the police department under direct federal control.

He also deployed the DC National Guard to patrol city streets — a move not subject to the emergency declaration. Last month, the Trump administration attempted to effectively replace DC Police Chief Pamela A. Smith with Drug Enforcement Administration head Terry Cole — a power grab that prompted DC officials to go to court to keep the city’s chief in charge.

Meanwhile, Bowser is attempting to navigate the rough water as she expressed gratitude for the boosted federal law enforcement presence — a sentiment that last week stirred swift rebuke from some DC council members while pleasing the Trump administration. However, she still opposed the president’s description of the city as a dangerous hellscape and described the National Guard troops who had poured in from half a dozen Republican states as an inefficient use of resources.

She made a similar assertion during her address at Capitol Hill on Wednesday. “I want the message to be clear to the Congress,” she said at a news conference announcing plans to boost the ranks of DC police. “We have a framework to request or use federal resources in our city. We don’t need a presidential emergency.” If Congress does not vote for an extension, by law, Trump’s federalisation of the DC police force lasts 30 days and is set to expire on Wednesday.