Democrats introduce joint resolution to end Trump's 'lawless' DC takeover
Source: The Guardian
Fri 15 Aug 2025 12.52 EDT
Last modified on Fri 15 Aug 2025 12.58 EDT
Democratic lawmakers have introduced a joint resolution aimed at ending what they call Trump’s unlawful and unprecedented move to federalize the Metropolitan police department (MPD) in Washington DC.
Representative Jamie Raskin, the ranking member of the House judiciary committee, DC’s non-voting House delegate, Eleanor Holmes Norton, and representative Robert Garcia, ranking member of the House committee on oversight and government reform introduced the resolution on Friday, invoking the District of Columbia Home Rule Act of 1973. The resolution states that Trump has not demonstrated the existence of any special emergency conditions that would warrant the federalization of the police force. In the Senate, Chris Van Hollen of Maryland will sponsor the resolution.
“The only emergency here is a lawless president experiencing a growing public relations emergency because of his close friendship with Jeffrey Epstein and his stubborn refusal to release the Epstein file despite his promise to do so,” said Raskin in a statement shared with the Guardian.
The Home Rule Act of 1973 states that DC residents have the authority to govern their local affairs, including by electing a mayor and local council members. But because DC is considered a “federal district” rather than a state, the president and Congress (where DC residents have no voting representatives) are given the legal ability to manage local laws and local tax dollars.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/15/democrats-trump-dc-police-resolution
Link to PRESS RELEASE - Ranking Member Raskin, Congresswoman Norton, Ranking Member Garcia, and Senator Van Hollen Introduce Legislation Terminating Trump’s Unprecedented Federalization of D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department
Link to RESOLUTION (PDF) - https://democrats-judiciary.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/democrats-judiciary.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/raskin-dc-resolution.pdf