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The governors of the two states that share borders with D.C. are sharing starkly different opinions on President Donald Trump’s deployment of the National Guard and federal agents to the nation’s capital, with Maryland’s governor calling the president a “chicken hawk” and Virginia’s saying it will make the District safer.
White House officials said Wednesday federal agents would be patrolling D.C. streets around the clock. Trump has also indicated he would seek to extend his federal authority over the city’s police department beyond the 30 days allowed by the D.C. Home Rule Act.
As part of his initiative, Trump has also sent hundreds of National Guard troops into the District, and hinted other cities, including Baltimore, could be next.
“We have other cities that are very bad. New York has a problem. And then you have, of course, Baltimore and Oakland. We don’t even mention that anymore, they’re so far gone,” Trump said Monday during his news conference announcing the law enforcement takeover in D.C. “We’re not going to lose our cities over this, and this will go further.”
Democratic Maryland Gov. Wes Moore has been a vocal critic of Trump’s efforts, and on Thursday the president belittled Moore in response to the Maryland governor’s resistance to deploy the National Guard in his state.
“He’s not presidential timber, at all,” Trump said. “I heard him today talking about how the National Guard or the military is not trained to police. But they’re trained in common sense and they’re trained in not allowing people to burn down buildings and bomb buildings and shoot people.”
Moore responded directly to those comments on WTOP.
“I don’t listen to criticism from chicken hawks, people who talk tough and try to utilize people in uniform, but have never had the courage to wear the uniform themselves,” Moore said. “Our National Guard, I know what they’re trained on. I know what it requires when you’re asking someone to put their life at risk.”
The governor was referring to the fact that Trump received draft deferments during the Vietnam War, including one that came as a result of a physician’s letter stating he suffered from bone spurs in his feet. Trump’s team has described that issue as a temporary problem.
Moore, an Army veteran who was deployed to Afghanistan, told WTOP on Thursday that he will not authorize the use of Maryland’s National Guard for something that is not mission critical nor mission aligned.
Moore’s Va. counterpart cites success working with Trump
During a separate interview with WTOP on Thursday, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin threw his support behind Trump, saying crime in D.C. is at “shockingly high levels” and what the president is doing will make the District safer.
Youngkin, a Republican, said he’s been working with the Trump administration since the president’s inauguration to bring down crime. That effort, according to Youngkin and FBI Director Kash Patel, has been successful.
“We stood up a task force in my Northern Virginia field office and we said, ‘Let’s let good cops be cops. Let’s get them the intelligence and what they need, and let’s get the red tape out of their way.’ And that’s exactly what we did. In one month, we arrested 545 violent felons,” Patel said.
Youngkin called the task force a “first of its kind in the country.” The effort brought state and federal departments together to target criminal networks.
“This collaboration has allowed us to put together very sophisticated prosecution files so that we can go arrest these folks,” Youngkin said. “There are information that state and local capabilities have, and there’s information sources and capabilities that the federal resources have. And when we work together, it’s extraordinary what we can achieve.”
As a part of Trump’s temporary takeover of D.C.’s police department, similar collaboration is now happening in the District, with an indication that city leaders are at least somewhat on board.
D.C. police Chief Pamela Smith on Thursday ordered more cooperation between her officers and federal immigration officials.
The police chief’s order establishes that D.C. police officers may now share information with immigration agencies regarding people not in custody — such as someone involved in a traffic stop or checkpoint. Officers may also provide “transportation for federal immigration employees and detained subjects,” the order states.
The changes, which raise collaboration between the two forces in notable ways, are effective immediately.
“I have to say that the collaboration between local law enforcement and federal law enforcement works if you engage with it. I was pleased to hear that there’s going to be collaboration and support from local law enforcement, and I think this is the way it’s going to work. D.C. will be safer because of these actions,” Youngkin said.
The Associated Press and WTOP’s Nick Iannelli contributed to this report.
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