As D.C. continues to press for statehood, President Trump and Sen. Lee want the federal government to have more control

President Donald Trump issued an executive order late Thursday that would give the federal government more control over public safety in Washington, D.C.

Washington saw a significant increase in violent crime from 2021 to 2023 before rates began to drop again last year, but Trump and other Republicans, including Sen. Mike Lee, think the city government isn’t doing enough.

The executive order signed by Trump creates a “D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force.” It directs police officers to crack down on drug use, unpermitted demonstrations, vandalism and public intoxication. It also directs immigration officials to work with the Washington police force to apprehend migrants in the country illegally, and has several other directives for the city’s criminal justice system.

The order also calls for the beautification of the district, by removing graffiti, maintaining historic sites and cracking down on homeless encampments.

Meanwhile, Lee, R-Utah, and Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., have introduced a bill to return governance of the district to what it was before a home rule law was enacted in the 1970s. They’ve introduced the Bringing Oversight to Washington and Safety to Every Resident Act, or BOWSER Act, named after Washington’s current mayor, Muriel Bowser

But while Trump and some members of Congress want to see greater federal control, many in the district are advocating in a different direction. They want to see Washington, D.C., named the 51st state, and for the residents to have representation in Congress. This change would require a constitutional amendment.

Washington’s ceremonial representative, Oye Owolewa, was in Utah in February to talk to residents about his concerns with Lee’s bill, and to explain why he thinks the district should become a state.

While Owolewa was selected by residents in a district-wide election for his role, he has no formal powers. He, along with two shadow senators, are not recognized by the federal government in any official capacity. Their primary role is to advocate for the district’s statehood.

But both Trump and Lee both cite security issues and corruption as the reason it is necessary for the federal government to have great control over Washington.

“The corruption, crime, and incompetence of the D.C. government has been an embarrassment to our nation’s capital for decades,” Lee said in a press release about his bill.

The Utah senator’s comments on crime come as the city’s murder rate was fifth-highest in the country in 2023, a year that also saw one of Sen. Rand Paul’s staffers brutally stabbed four times, per The Washington Post.

However, Owolewa told the Deseret News “I don’t believe a federal takeover, whether for our police or whether it’s our entire local government, is going to make our community safer.”

The BOWSER Act seeks to overturn the Home Rule Act of 1973

Lee’s bill would overturn the Home Rule Act of 1973, which authorized D.C. residents to elect a mayor and a 13-member city council — a move he links with an increase in crime and homelessness in the district.

Before this act, Washington was governed largely as outlined in the U.S. Constitution. Article I, Section 8, Clause 17, which directs Congress to preside over Washington, D.C.

However, in the early 1970s, former President Richard Nixon signed the Home Rule Act into law, giving the district the authority to self-govern. This legislation authorized district residents to elect a mayor and a 13-member city council.

Specifically, Title IV of the act gave the council the power “to create, abolish, or organize any office, agency, department, or instrumentality of the government of the District and to define the powers, duties, and responsibilities of any such office, agency, department, or instrumentality.”

The long history of bills on D.C. statehood

In January, Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton, a nonvoting delegate in the House who represents the district, joined Sen Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., in reintroducing the Washington, D.C. Admission Act, which seeks to grant the district statehood and provide congressional representation.

Norton introduced the first statehood bill in 1993, shortly after being elected as a delegate in 1991. The bill failed in the House 277-153.

However, talks of statehood among Democrats have increased in popularity in recent years, with the D.C. Admission Act passing in the house 232-180 in 2020 and again the following year, passing 216-208. The bill was not brought to the Senate floor in 2020 nor in 2021.

While Washington is only about 68 square miles, it has a population of a little under 700,000.

Owolewa discusses proposed solutions besides statehood

One reason district residents want statehood is to have federal representation in Congress. One solution that’s been suggested is for the more residential parts of the district to be absorbed into Maryland and Virginia, while maintaining the area with the most federal buildings, including the Capitol Building and the White House, as a federally controlled district.

Owolewa listed three reasons he believes this solution is not feasible.

“Number one, we used to have in Maryland a Republican governor, Larry Hogan. He did not want 600,000 Democratic votes being absorbed into Maryland. Number two, the cultures are different. People in D.C. want to remain D.C. People in Maryland want to remain Maryland. And number three, they don’t want us,” Owolewa said. “No, Maryland does not want us.”

During his visit to Salt Lake City, Owolewa said he also visited with state Democratic leaders who supported his cause.

Ultimately, Owolewa said, Washingtonians “just want the same thing” as Americans living in the 50 states.

“We want our say. We’re paying taxes — federal income taxes — taxation without representation, and our voice at the table makes this country better,” he said.

BOWSER Bill sponsors say home rule has failed the district

Ogles agrees with Lee that giving Washington home-rule increased the city’s crime rate and homelessness.

“Bowser and her corrupt Washington City Council are incapable of managing the city‚” Ogles said, adding that the epicenter of the U.S. government “cannot continue to be a cesspool of Democrats’ failed policies.”

Last month, one of D.C.’s 13 council members, Trayon White, was unanimously expelled from his seat after being charged with taking tens of thousands of dollars in bribes, according to The Associated Press.

Several years earlier in 2019, another district council member, Jack Evans, resigned after 11 ethical violation charges were brought against him, per CNN.

Owolewa addressed the recent display of corruption among council members. “In New York City, we have a mayor, Eric Adams, who was arrested and accused of similar actions. In New Jersey, we had someone was also accused of bribery. So unfortunately, this is not uncommon, but there are ways to remove folks who have violated public trust,” he said.

However, concerns raised by Lee and Ogles extend to the way crime is handled by Washington. The bill’s text references the city council’s passage of the Revised Criminal Code Act in 2022, which reduced penalties for crimes.

Specifically, the law softened legal consequences for robbery, carjacking and homicide. In 2022, the homicide rate was 29.3 per 100,000 residents, and in 2023, this rate spiked to approximately 40 per 100,000 — the highest rate in 20 years, per WUSA.

In late February on Air Force One, reporters asked Trump what he thought about Washington’s governance.

“I think we should govern the District of Columbia,” Trump said. “It’s so important.”

He continued, “I think we should run it strong, run it with law and order, make it absolutely flawlessly beautiful, and I think we should take over Washington D.C., make it safe. People are getting killed, people are being hurt. You have a great police department there, but somehow they’re not being utilized properly.”

The BOWSER Act remains in committee in both the House and the Senate.