1A What Trump’s DC Takeover Means For The Capital And Beyond
Aug 14, 2025
Cleve R. Woodson, Jr. is a White House reporter for The Washington Post, Jeff Asher is a data analyst and former CIA officer, and Richard Brafotte is a law professor specializing in local governance. They discuss Trump's controversial takeover of D.C.'s police amid low crime rates and the implications for cities nationwide. The conversation highlights the friction between federal control and local autonomy, contrasting political rhetoric about crime with actual data, while exploring the complexities of federal authority in the nation's capital.
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Temporary Federal Control Of D.C. Police
- The president used an executive order to assume control of the D.C. police for 30 days and surged federal forces into the city streets.
- The order gives the White House temporary, broad authority over D.C. policing but its duration and extension remain uncertain.
Checkpoints Checking Immigration Status
- Alex Coma described checkpoints where officers checked not only traffic citations but also immigration status in D.C.
- He noted this marks a shift from D.C.'s historical sanctuary-city practices and has alarmed residents.
Rhetoric Versus Local Reality
- Cleve Woodson and others fact-checked the president's rhetoric about D.C. being overrun, calling it exaggerated and politically charged.
- They said D.C. has problems but is not a dystopian wasteland as the president depicted.