U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin argued against President Donald Trump’s takeover of the Washington, D.C. police, declaring there is no crime emergency there. He also pointed out that Congress gave the District home rule powers for its police department.
Raskin joined a media Zoom call Monday with the Not Above the Law Coalition, which called on Trump to end his “authoritarian takeover of Washington, DC.”
Raskin said Trump’s actions would have been more appropriate during the Jan. 6 siege of the U.S. Capitol, noting, “There is no emergency now.”
‘Emergency’ Actions
Trump can direct the D.C. mayor to act, but “there is no power for him to take over the police,” according to Raskin.
Instead, Raskin said, the federal government should end gun control loopholes and restore the $800 million in local law enforcement grants that enabled local communities to fight crime in more ways than just making arrests.
Lisa Gilbert, Co-President of Public Citizen, called Trump’s actions “an attack on fundamental rights,” adding the President also is firing people and defying court orders.
Letter to Congress
During the 45-minute call, the Not Above the Law Coalition announced that 127 organizations signed a letter to members of Congress to pass a resolution ending Trump’s takeover of the District and terminate Trump’s federal emergency declaration.
“This isn’t about crime statistics or urban policy—it’s about whether our constitutional system can withstand a deliberate authoritarian assault. Congress has both the authority and the duty to act. History will judge those who fought for democracy and those who remained silent,” it states in the letter.
Also addressing the media were Maya Wiley, president and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, Norm Eisen, an attorney who served in President Barack Obama’s administration, and Elizabeth Goitein, Senior Director of Liberty and National Security at the Brennan Center for Justice.
