House leaders do not plan to hold a vote to extend President Donald Trump’s temporary takeover of the D.C. police before it expires next week, according to three people granted anonymity to describe internal planning.
Speaker Mike Johnson said as he left the House floor Thursday that D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s announcement this week that she would coordinate with federal law enforcement on an indefinite basis going forward seemingly “resolved some of” the issues.
The decision not to act on the police takeover guarantees that Trump’s 30-day emergency order will expire Sept. 10. While Senate Democrats have vowed for weeks to block the bill in the Senate using their filibuster powers, House leaders might have called a vote anyway to force vulnerable Democrats to take a position on urban crime.
Senate Republicans aren’t expected to give an extension a vote, either. A senator could try to clear it by unanimous consent, but such a request could be easily blocked on the floor.
Bowser on Wednesday called for the end of the police takeover, which Trump invoked under a provision of the 52-year-old law granting limited local autonomy to the District government. She has also been critical of Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops and ICE agents within the capital — but has welcomed a surge of other federal law enforcement, such as FBI agents and U.S. Park Police.
“I want the message to be clear to the Congress: We have a framework to request or use federal resources in our city,” Bowser said. “We don’t need a presidential emergency.”
The House could vote within weeks, however, on other D.C.-related measures. An Oversight Committee markup is set for Wednesday on legislation dealing with youth crime in the city, the D.C. education system and restrictions on law enforcement, according to a person granted anonymity to disclose details ahead of a public announcement.
A list of bills under consideration, obtained by POLITICO, includes a number of provisions that would heighten the federal government’s control of the D.C. government. One bill would eliminate the elected D.C. attorney general and fill the job with a presidential appointee. Others would reverse a D.C. policy against police auto pursuits and lower the age at which minors can be considered adults for some violent crimes.
Johnson was also asked Thursday about $2 billion in D.C. beautification funding Trump has said he wants Congress to deliver. He replied he was “not sure the current status of it” and was “awaiting further details on the request.”
Johnson also said Thursday that a nationwide crime bill was “on the table,” while Senate Majority Leader John Thune said it was “yet to be determined” what such a bill might look like.
Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) is involved in preliminary talks with House and Senate Republicans as well as the Justice Department about a broader crime bill.
“My expectation is again that the House, the Senate, the speaker and I at some point will have that conversation,” Thune said. “Figure out exactly what [Trump] envisions that looking like and what we can accomplish and get through the Senate and the House.”
Jordain Carney, Hailey Fuchs and Michael Schaffer contributed to this report.
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