Justice Department Rebukes D.C. Council's 5,148-Troop Recall Push as Homicides Drop 44%
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Aug 13
Justice Department Rebukes D.C. Council's 5,148-Troop Recall Push as Homicides Drop 44%
3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Aug 13
Summary
Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald told the D.C. Council it has no authority to demand governors pull National Guard troops from Washington, calling its recall campaign “politically motivated” and “impotent theatrics.”
The Justice Department tied that rebuke to public-safety gains under the Trump administration’s Safe and Beautiful initiative, citing FBI Director Kash Patel’s claim that D.C. homicides are down 44% from a year earlier.
Council members had asked governors in late July to withdraw roughly 5,148 Guard personnel by Sept. 1, arguing the deployment costs more than $3 million a day and has shown no measurable reduction in violent crime.
McDonald countered that Guard units have supported thousands of arrests, removed illegal guns, aided assault victims, found missing children and repeatedly administered NARCAN, framing the dispute as a fight over whether the extended federal presence is improving safety.