For all the latest developments in Congress, follow WTOP Capitol Hill correspondent Mitchell Miller at Today on the Hill.
Republican members of Congress are proposing several bills that back President Donald Trump’s federal law enforcement surge, including a measure that would extend it for six months.
The president’s declared crime emergency is scheduled to end after 30 days, unless Congress approves an extension.
Many GOP lawmakers have said they will be ready to vote for an extension, if the president believes it is necessary.
Republican Rep. Andy Biggs, who represents Arizona’s 5th District, has proposed legislation to amend the D.C. Home Rule Act, so that a president would be allowed to assert control over D.C. police for 180 days.
“My legislation ensures that President Trump has the necessary time and authority to quell the chaos that has reigned in woke D.C.,” Biggs said in a statement.
Cosponsors of his legislation include Republican Rep. Andy Harris, who represents Maryland’s 1st District.
Other Republican lawmakers have also proposed legislation to extend the federal surge in D.C., including Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, who represents Florida’s 13th District. Rep. Andy Ogles, who represents Tennessee’s 5th District, has introduced similar legislation.
Biggs has also introduced a bill that would prohibit the use of cashless bail in D.C., which allows judges to release criminals pending trial, without posting bond. Trump and the U.S. Attorney for D.C., Jeanine Pirro, have been highly critical of cashless bail and have made it clear they want it eliminated.
Democrats have bills to end the crime emergency
Congressional Democrats have proposed their own legislation, seeking to limit the duration of the federal surge.
D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton has introduced a bill to terminate what she calls the president’s “unprecedented federalization of MPD.”
She has also introduced a bill that would require National Guard troops deployed in D.C. who deal with crime to wear body cameras.
“President Trump’s decision to federalize MPD and deploy more than 2,000 National Guard troops to D.C. is an unnecessary assault on D.C. Home Rule for purposes that eight out of 10 D.C. residents oppose,” Norton said in a statement to WTOP.
Norton and U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen, of Maryland, have also reintroduced legislation that would give D.C. full control over its National Guard, as well as the police department.
Currently, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser cannot activate the National Guard — that power resides with the president.
While Democrats have pushed back on the president’s deployment of federal agents and guard troops, they have little leverage given its widespread support among Republicans in Congress, who control the House and Senate.
Democrats may try to oppose extending the law enforcement surge in the Senate with a filibuster.
If they block the extension, the president has suggested he might declare a national emergency to get around Congress, which could lead to a battle in the courts.
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