Aug 14

Aug 14 Leadership Takeover in DC

Senator Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.) released the following statement in response to the news that President Trump announced he is placing D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department under federal control and deploying the National Guard.

“The city of Washington D.C. belongs to the great people of Washington, D.C., not the occupant of the White House. If he actually cared about the wellbeing of the people of Washington, he wouldn't have blocked D.C. from spending its OWN money in the way it saw fit.
“This is not only drastic executive overreach but the latest marker in how far this President is willing to go to attack our democracy.”

In March, Senator Alsobrooks filed an amendment that would allow DC's FY2025 budget to move forward in the CR. While the amendment was not adopted, she worked with Senators Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) on a standalone bill that would do the same. This Senate passed this bill, Speaker Johnson has yet to bring it to the House floor.

Republicans’ meddling in DC’s budget created a deficit which the city had to address in part by freezing the hiring of professional staff in the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department and by imposing restrictions on overtime for police officers.