Chairman Comer Praises President Trump’s Efforts to Crack Down on Crime and Lawlessness in D.C.

WASHINGTON – House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) issued the following statement praising President Trump’s efforts to curb crime, restore law and order in Washington, D.C., and protect the safety of residents and visitors in the nation’s capital. The White House today announced the activation of the D.C. National Guard and the federalization of the Metropolitan Police Department to strengthen local law enforcement efforts and address crime in the District of Columbia.

“President Trump is rightly using executive power to take bold and necessary action to crack down on crime and restore law and order in Washington, D.C. For years, the D.C. Council’s radical, soft-on-crime agenda has emboldened criminals and put public safety at risk in our nation’s capital. Protecting all Americans and tackling crime are core conservative policy priorities, and today’s actions by the Trump Administration mark another promise kept. Alongside President Trump, the House Oversight Committee is also advancing legislative solutions to protect Americans in their capital city and plans to hold a hearing with the District Attorney General Brian Schwalb, D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson, and Mayor Muriel Bowser this September. The Committee looks forward to continuing its constitutional duty to oversee D.C. and will work with the Trump Administration to ensure a safe, beautiful, and prosperous capital,” said Chairman James Comer.

Background:

The House Oversight Committee, which holds jurisdiction over the District of Columbia, is fulfilling its constitutional duty by conducting robust oversight and holding D.C. officials accountable. Under Chairman Comer’s leadership, House Joint Resolution 26 was enacted to block the D.C. Council’s Revised Criminal Code Act of 2022, with support from both the House, Senate, and President Biden. House Joint Resolution 42, aimed at overturning D.C.’s anti-police bill, also passed Congress but was vetoed by President Biden. However, following sustained pressure from the House Oversight Committee, the D.C. Council ultimately rolled back many of the Council’s anti-police law’s provisions.

In May 2024, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 7530 – The “D.C. Criminal Reform to Immediately Make Everyone Safer (D.C. CRIMES) Act” with a bipartisan vote of 225-181. Chairman Comer detailed how the legislation prohibits the D.C. Council from pursuing progressive, soft-on-crime policy and seeks to utilize Congressional authority in order to reduce crime in our nation’s capital. Last week, Congressman Byron Donalds (R-FL) reintroduced the “D.C. Criminal Reform to Immediately Make Everyone Safer (D.C. CRIMES) Act” to make our nation’s capital safe again for all Americans. 

On June 10, 2025, Chairman James Comer praised the House of Representatives’ passage of the Protecting Our Nation’s Capital Emergency Act (H.R. 2096), which restores due process protections for Washington, D.C. police officers and is an important step in codifying President Trump’s “Make the District of Columbia Safe and Beautiful” executive order.