New Republican platform eyes more federal control over DC

The GOP is looking to exert more federal control over Washington, D.C., particularly when addressing crime and maintenance of federal buildings, according to the party’s platform released Monday.

The 16-page document says it plans to make D.C. “the Safest and Most Beautiful Capital City.”

“Republicans will reassert greater Federal Control over Washington, DC to restore Law and Order in our Capital City, and ensure Federal Buildings and Monuments are well-maintained,” the platform states.

Former President Donald Trump has previously condemned how D.C.’s city government addresses its crime problems, having threatened to bring in the National Guard in 2020 during the Black Lives Matter protests.

Since then, crime in the capital has worsened. In 2023 the city experienced its worst year in more than two decades. Meanwhile, the nearby city of Baltimore saw a historic drop in homicides.

Last December, Trump expressed his dismay with D.C., saying it “has become a dirty, crime-ridden death trap that must be taken over and properly run by the federal government.”

While Congress does have authority over the city’s budget and has killed legislation passed by the D.C. Council, D.C. is an autonomous city. Known as home rule, D.C. is given authority over its own operations, including its police force.

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“I’m not worried that the language in this platform infringes upon home rule in the District of Columbia,” D.C. GOP Chairman Pat Mara told Axios.

The Washington Examiner reached out to Mayor Muriel Bowser’s office for comment.