New York (AP) – Since the National Guard troops in their city as part of President Donald Trump’s efforts to capture crime in their city, the mayor of DC, Muriel Bowser, reacts relatively reserved.
She named Trump’s takeover of the city’s police department and his decision to activate 800 wax members “worrying and unprecedented” and to fill his efforts as part of an “authoritarian thrust”.
But Bowser has previously avoided the type of biting rhetoric and personal attacks that are typical of other top -class democratic leaders, despite the unprecedented intervention in their city. Instead, she works with the efforts of the administration, including the clarification of the city’s homeless warehouse and the collaboration closer with the federal immigration agents, as Trump demanded.
“Although this campaign is worrying and unprecedented today, I cannot say that in view of the rhetoric of the past, we are completely surprised,” said Bowser reporters at a press conference and replied to the efforts. She even suggested that the city’s resources could benefit.
“The fact that we have more law enforcement and presence in neighborhoods can be positive,” she said.
Bowser argued that her hands were largely connected and found that the circumscribed house rule of the federal government “can penetrate our autonomy in many ways” and defended its approach.
“My tenor is appropriate for what I think is important for the district. And what is important for the district is that we can take care of our citizens,” she said.
The approach underlines the reality of the precarious position in Washington under the thumb of the federal government. Trump has repeatedly threatened a complete takeover of the overwhelming democratic city, which is granted autonomy by a circumscribed house control contract that could be lifted by the congress in 1973. The Republicans who control both chambers have already frozen more than 1 billion US dollars in local expenses and have reduced the city’s budget.
This brings them to a completely different position as figures such as Gavin Newsom or Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, Democrats, whose states are dependent on the Federal Government for Disaster and other funds, but have nevertheless relentlessly attacked current administration, since they lay the foundation for potential presidential runs for potential presidential runs. These efforts come in the middle of the deep frustrations of the democratic voters that their party was not almost aggressive enough in their efforts to counter Trump’s actions.
“Unfortunately, she is in a very vulnerable position,” said Nina Smith, democratic strategy Nina Smith. “This is the kind of things that can happen if you do not have the powers that go hand in hand with a state. This is what we are seeing, the mayor is trying to navigate a very hard administration. Because this administration has not shown any restraint with regard to any kind of constitutional barrier or norms.”
Work together
The effects on the city were quick.
On Wednesday, agents of the FBI, the investigation investigations of the home protection and the Drug Enforcement Administration, together with members of the National Guard, joined the civil servants of the Metropolitan Police Department at patrols in the districts in the districts.
And on Thursday, the city workers began to vacate homeless camps- a deputy mayor for Health and Humania Stand Wayne Turnage said that he was informed by the National Park Service that the federal agents would close all camps in the city in both federal and areas.
He said that the city has more resources for social services than the Federal Government, it was better for the city to do the task “as it should be done”.
“Closing camps is a very, very complex process,” he said. “We are dealing with people who have been marginalized in many cases. Your life is being disturbed. And that’s why we have set up a process that we believe that we respect that.”
The city’s chief of police also ordered an raise in cooperation between local officials and federal immigration officers. An executive regulation signed on Thursday stipulates that MPD officers are now able to share information with immigration authorities about people who are not in custody – e.g.
Bowser was in Martha’s vineyard on Thursday, Massachusetts, not in the city. According to the mayor’s office, she had a “family commitment” and will return to Washington on Friday afternoon.
A change compared to Trump’s first term
Bowser’s approach marks a departure from Trump’s first term when it was far antagonistic to the President.
Then she routinely collapsed with the administration, including the painting of yellow letters in the city, which painted “Black Lives Matter” over yellow letters near the White House in George Floyd in 2020.
This time Bowser took another hack from the start. She flew to Florida to meet Trump in Mar-A-Lago after winning the election and worked to avoid conflict and downpoints of the disputes, including the lifting of the letters “Black Lives Matter” after he had returned to Washington’s pressure in the Congress.
The change reflects the novel political dynamics in the game, whereby the Republicans have control over the congress and an encouraged Trump, who has made it clear that he is willing to exercise maximum power and to cross borders in an unprecedented way.
Christina Henderson, council member of DC, said that she understands Bowser’s position and largely agreed with her conclusion that a legal challenge for Trump’s movements would be a long shot. Trump arrived in Section 740 of District of Columbia in Section 740 in Section 740 of the Home Rule and explained a “crime emergency” so that his government could take over the city’s police. The statue limits this control to 30 days unless he receives approval from the congress.
“The challenge would be the question of whether” is this really an emergency? “, Said Henderson, a former congress employee.” This is really the only part you can challenge. “
Henderson believes that the city would be exposed to tender prospects in a court campaign, but believes that the DC government should contest anyway: “only on the basis of the precedent”.
Trump informed the reporters on Wednesday that he believes that he could extend the 30-day period by declaring a national emergency, but said: “We expect that we are very quick before the congress.”
“We will ask for extensions for these long -term extensions because they cannot have 30 days,” he said. “We’ll do that very quickly. But we want to expand. I don’t want to call a national emergency. If I have to, I’ll do it.”
The DC Mayor has only circumscribed legal options
As mayor of the Columbia district, Bowser has a completely different relationship with the president and the federal government as other mayors or governors. The city houses thousands of federal workers, and the mass layoffs in Doge already have a major impact on the economy of the city – but it has a circumscribed legal recourse to defend itself.
Bowser’s reaction reflects the reality of the situation, according to a person who is familiar with their thinking. Your strategy was to concentrate on finding areas in which you and the novel administration can work together on joint priorities.
At the moment, Bowser seems to stay in her approach and to say on Wednesday that she focuses on “ensuring that the federal government is useful for us”.
During an interview on Wednesday morning with FOX 5, she and the city’s police chief, an influx of federal agents who are related to Trump’s takeover, would improve public security with more officials on patrol.
Police chief Pamela Smith said that the city’s police department is sufficient almost 800 civil servants, so that the additional police presence “will clearly influence us positively”.
But Nina Smith, the democratic strategist, said she thinks Bowser needs a course correction.
“How often will it take until she realizes that this is not someone who has the best interests of the city in the heart?” she asked. “I think there may have to be time to get hard and push it back.”
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Associated Press Writers Ashraf Khalil and wants to Weissert in Washington have contributed to this report.
