(NewsNation) —The Trump administration is moving forward on plans to deploy federal law enforcement to tackle crime in Washington, D.C., which could see officers as early as Friday.
A senior White House official told NewsNation Thursday that the White House, federal agencies and local officials are working together in line with Trump’s executive order to use federal enforcement to drive down crime.
Trump signed the “Making the District of Columbia Safe and Beautiful” executive order in March, which directs federal authorities to undertake deportations, monitor D.C’s sanctuary city status, assist the city’s forensic crime laboratory and help process concealed carry license requests, among other things.
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“Washington, D.C., is an amazing city, but it has sadly been plagued by petty and violent crime for far too long. President Trump is committed to making our Nation’s capital safer and even more beautiful for its residents, lawmakers, and visitors from all around the world,” Trump press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.
When asked if there are plans to put National Guard troops on the streets of D.C following President Trump’s threat to take federal control of the city, Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson said she “wouldn’t want to get ahead and speak to any future operational plans that may or may not be happening.”
The executive order established a task force called the “D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force,” which is chaired by the assistant to the president and homeland security adviser. The official told NewsNation the task force has already used federal enforcement and the National Park Service to increase enforcement, bring down crime, arrest illegal immigrants and remove homelessness encampments.
The swift move by the administration comes days after two teens were arrested in the city in connection with the attempted carjacking and beating of one of the most prominent members of the Department of Government Efficiency.
Edward Coristine was assaulted around 3 a.m. Sunday in the city’s Logan Circle neighborhood by a group of teenagers attempting to carjack him and a woman whom police identified as his significant other, according to authorities.
The attack gave new fuel to long-standing Republican efforts to challenge Washington’s autonomy, with Trump threatening to bypass local authority and impose direct federal control over the city.
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In a social media post and remarks at the White House on Tuesday, the president described crime in Washington as “out of control.”
“If D.C. doesn’t get its act together, and quickly, we will have no choice but to take Federal control of the City, and run this City how it should be run, and put criminals on notice that they’re not going to get away with it anymore,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
