Burgemeester Bowser wil National Guard 30 dagen langer in Washington houden

[E. Gidius]

Muriel Bowser, burgemeester van Washington had eerder al haar partijgenoten tot razernij gebracht door openlijk te stellen dat het inzetten van de National Guard de misdaad in haar stad stevig heeft laten dalen met 44 pct. Ook het aantal moorden is met eenzelfde percentage gedaald.

"Washington is weer een veilige stad", aldus letterlijk mevrouw Bowser.

Maar nu gaat Muriel Bowser een verbijsterende stap verder: ze wil de inzet van de National Guard met nog eens 30 dagen verlengen.

DC mayor’s order suggests federal law enforcement collaboration could extend beyond 30 days

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser signed an order Tuesday outlining how the District will coordinate with federal law enforcement “during and after the Presidential emergency,” signaling that the District may continue to see the presence of extra law enforcement working with city agencies.

In a mayor’s order dated Tuesday, Bowser laid out the role of a “Safe and Beautiful Emergency Operations Center,” or SBEOC. The center is responsible for managing the city’s response to President Donald Trump’s Safe and Beautiful Task Force and his declaration of a crime emergency in the city.

Bowser said the center will describe how the federal government can assist the city, with the goal of reducing gun violence and violent crime. Bowser alluded to the order last week.

The order said the SBEOC will communicate D.C.’s requests, such as asking federal law enforcement officials not to wear masks in the city, a step the order said was necessary to “maintain community confidence in law enforcement.”

The District will continue to work with the U.S. Marshals Service, the FBI, U.S. Park Police, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, U.S. Capitol Police and U.S. Secret Service. The release doesn’t mention Immigration and Customs Enforcement or the National Guard.

But it hasn’t all been smooth sailing between Bowser and Trump.

At an event last Thursday, Bowser said, “What has not worked during this period of time is ICE terrorizing communities, especially with masks, and especially not having enough information about where people are.” She similarly characterized National Guard troops on city streets as something that “hasn’t worked.”

The order comes less than a week after Bowser said the federal law enforcement surge is helping to address crime across D.C.

In response to Bowser’s order, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Tuesday, “President Trump’s efforts to crack down on crime in D.C. have yielded tremendous results in such a short time — violent crime has plummeted and dangerous criminals are being removed from the streets every single night.”

President Trump declared a crime emergency and invoked the Home Rule Act, a step that is scheduled to end after 30 days. Trump would have to seek Congressional approval to extend it.

Bowser’s order provides a path for working with federal law enforcement after the president’s declaration of a crime emergency in the nation’s capital — her strongest public indication that federal law enforcement could remain in the city indefinitely.

At a separate event Thursday, Bowser described the imminent order as “the structure that I am putting in place, an emergency operations center, that has four work streams that prepares the District to either request more or different federal law enforcement or receive the services of federal law enforcement in a way that enhances what MPD is already doing under the control of the chief.”

D.C.’s police union said in a statement the order is a “vital step toward enhancing public safety,” but stressed it’s a short-term solution and does not address the D.C. police department’s root challenges of staffing shortages, eroded morale and surging crime.

Bowser said the center will provide regular crime statistics from D.C. and federal officers. Attorney General Pam Bondi said there were more than 200 arrests and 20 illegal guns seized in D.C. during Labor Day weekend. In a graphic on X, Bondi shared that 1,669 arrests have been made and 168 guns recovered since the law enforcement surge started.

In the first two weeks of the surge, there has been an 20% increase in arrests compared to the same time period last year, according to crime data released by the mayor’s office.

A White House official said five missing children have been rescued, 16 known gang members have been arrested, and 50 homeless encampments have been cleared. D.C. police, the official said, are working with city officials to find and clear other encampments.

Zal Muriel Bowser dezelfde weg opgaan als New York's burgemeester Eric Adams (D) die het verbod van zijn partij naast zich neerlegde om samen te werken met de federale overheid tegen de misdaad? De partij van de liefde sleurde hem vervolgens voor de rechter, een proces dat werd stopgezet nadat de Dems de verkiezingen verloren.

Lachen met Trump dat we doen, jongens!