Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin (D) slammed President Trump’s move to take control of the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police Department as “political theater,” saying he’s ignoring the progress the city has made in reducing crime.
Durbin made the comments during a press conference that he held Monday with Democratic members of the Texas state House who left the state and traveled to Illinois to prevent Republicans from pushing through a new congressional district map that would likely net the GOP five more seats in next year’s midterm elections.
Durbin said he’s sympathetic to the victims of violent crime in D.C., Illinois, Texas or any other state in the country.
“Having said that, what the president did this morning was political theater,” he said. “His idea in federalizing the police force of D.C. ignores the reality they are making dramatic progress in reducing violent crime in D.C.”
Durbin said the move is “typical” from Trump, intended to create “chaos” and draw attention away from other issues like the controversy surrounding files the government has on Jeffrey Epstein and the concern that families are feeling about not being able to afford health care and the cost of living.
“He’s trying to change the subject. He won’t be able to do that,” Durbin added.
Trump announced earlier Monday that he was asserting federal control of the District’s police force and sending the National Guard into the city to try to crack down on violent crime. The president has the authority to temporarily take control of the local police for up to 30 days under the Home Rule Act, which gives the District a certain amount of self-governing ability, if “special conditions of an emergency nature exist.”
Trump said he was declaring a public safety emergency in the city. Congress would need to grant an extension for the president to maintain control for longer than 30 days.
Violent crime has dropped in D.C. more recently, reaching a 30-year low last year. It is also less so far this year than at this time last year.
Texas state Rep. Gene Wu (D), the minority leader of the Texas state House, drew a connection between Trump’s move to federalize the D.C. police and other Republicans’ advocacy for using state troopers and the FBI to track down Democrats who left the state, arguing they all show a “rise of authoritarianism” in the country.
“This is about saying, ‘We don’t care what your local city wants. We don’t care what your state wants. We don’t care what you do that’s good for your people. We’re going to tell you what to do,’” Wu said.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has directed Texas state troopers to arrest the Democratic state lawmakers who left the state to deny Republicans a quorum to conduct business, while Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and state Attorney General Ken Paxton have advocated for the FBI to get involved to help return the state Democrats back to Texas.
Wu said Texans, regardless of their party affiliation, are proud of their independence.
“This is happening across our country, and if we don’t stop it, this is the end,” he said. “If we don’t stop this authoritarianism coming across, by the time we realize that we need to fight back, it may be too late. They may have everything under control.”
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Comments