Congress not planning vote to extend Trump's 30-day D.C. police takeover

Source: Washington Post

September 4, 2025 at 8:42 p.m.


Leaders in the House and Senate are not planning to hold votes to extend President Donald Trump’s temporary control of D.C. police before it expires next week, according to three people familiar with the matter. The news arrives on the heels of D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) ordering indefinite coordination between local and federal law enforcement officials and projecting confidence in the city’s ability to handle public safety without federal intervention.

In allowing the Trump administration’s grip on the department to come to an end, Congress closes one chapter in the ongoing tussle between local and federal officials vying for control over public safety in the capital. But for now, it appears unlikely fewer federal agents or camouflage-clad troops will patrol city streets.

“This is by mutual agreement with the White House,” a senior senate staffer familiar with the matter said of the decision not to hold an extension vote. The staffer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the matter publicly, said the White House was “mollified by Bowser’s promise of cooperation and support.”

The congressional decision offers a win for Bowser and her approach with the president, praised by some as strategically collegial and criticized by others as out of touch with the anger and concern in communities across the city. Still, the District continues to face a barrage of attempts by the GOP-led Congress to exert further control over local matters and erode D.C.’s already limited ability to govern itself.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2025/09/04/trump-congress-police-takeover-vote/