Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, issued the following statement on the Trump administration’s move to deploy National Guard troops in Washington, D.C. and take control of the city’s police department.
“Public safety really matters, but Trump’s authoritarian takeover of Washington, D.C. is not a serious effort to make our nation’s capital safer. It’s a dangerous escalation that is based on a total fiction—there is no sudden surge of violence that would require the National Guard be deployed; in fact, violent crime in DC is at a 30-year-low. As usual, Donald Trump doesn’t have a clue what he’s talking about and is weaponizing baseless lies to try and justify an unprecedented takeover of local law enforcement. It’s clear Trump is trying desperately to change the subject from his connection to the Epstein files, weak jobs numbers, and the skyrocketing costs that are hitting every family because of his tariffs.
“The irony is rich: the most violent episode in D.C. in recent history was the deadly riot at the Capitol that Donald Trump himself incited—and as soon as he took office, he pardoned the violent criminals who beat cops within an inch of their lives. This is not someone who cares in the slightest about public safety.
“What we saw at Trump’s news conference this morning was a rambling and incoherent wannabe dictator who is trying to turn D.C. into his personal police state. Whether it’s Washington, D.C. or anywhere else, deploying the National Guard over the wishes of local leaders and law enforcement is not only counterproductive—it is a dangerous overreach of executive authority, and a massive waste of taxpayer dollars and our servicemembers’ time.”
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