Trump to ask Congress to extend his control of DC policing beyond 30 days – National & International News – WED 13Aug2025
Trump to ask Congress to extend his control of DC policing beyond 30 days.
Israel in talks to relocate Palestinians from Gaza to war-torn South Sudan.
Trump to ask Congress to extend his control of DC policing beyond 30 days
Earlier this week, President Trump seized control of the Washington DC Police and ordered in 800 members of the National Guard to bolster policing in the nation’s capital. Trump has sought to legitimize this federal takeover by declaring an emergency over rising violent crime. However, both federal and local data shows that violent crime is down significantly in the city.
Section 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act allows the President to nationalize the DC police for up to 30 days based on the President’s determination of a special emergency. The president can seek permission from Congress to extend that period, and Trump announced his intent to do so today. He indicated he would seek a “long-term extension” because he couldn’t accomplish what he wanted to do in 30 days.
Much of what he wants to accomplish seems focused more on aesthetics than on crime or policing:
“We’re going to make Washington beautiful. We’re going to redo roads. We’re going to redo the medians. The pavers and the medians are all throughout the city. We’re going to take all the graffiti off. We’re going to have to remove the tents. And the people that are living in our parks, we’re going to be redoing the parks, the grasses and all. We’re going to be going to Congress for a relatively small amount of money. And Lindsey [Graham] and the Republicans are going to be approving it,”
As alluded to in this quote, Trump seems particularly offended by the sight of homeless people in the city. Yesterday, he posted on Truth Social urging homeless people to leave the city. It’s not clear where he intends them to go, nor is yet clear how he intends to use policing to remove them.
If Trump is determined to address DC’s housing and public safety crises and other issues, he could urge Congress to restore the $1.1 billion that Congress cut from the city’s budget in March of this year. A measure to restore the city’s budget has been stalled in the House of Representatives since May.
Related:
California faces off against feds in court over National Guard deployment.
Israel in talks to relocate Palestinians from Gaza to war-torn South Sudan
Since the beginning of the military onslaught on Gaza following the October 7th attacks, Israeli officials have made no secret of their ultimate desire to drive out the majority of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip. Early on in the conflict, Israeli officials, along with the Biden administration, attempted to pressure Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi to allow the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians into the Egyptian-controlled Sinai Desert. Sisi vetoed this plan due to both humanitarian and security concerns.
Since then, the Israeli government has approached Somalia, Somaliland, and Sudan with similar plans, with support from the Trump administration. As far as is known publicly, these plans have not progressed.
Now, officials in South Sudan say they have been approached by Israel. Unlike the former candidates, they seem more eager to entertain the idea. The country has need of allies in the region, which makes the possibility of closer ties with Israel tempting.
After officially breaking away from Sudan in 2011, South Sudan has faced numerous civil and political crises, including a civil war which began in 2013. The civil war official came to an end in 2020, when a coalition government of warring factions was formed. However, the country continues to be plagued by ethnic violence and an ongoing refugee crisis stemming both from the civil war and prior Sudanese conflicts. The now 2-year-old civil war in neighboring Sudan has brought a new influx of refugees, contributing to a hunger crisis.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and members of his cabinet have sought to portray their push to empty the Gaza Strip as a “voluntary migration”. It is difficult to imagine many Palestinians would voluntarily migrate to a place where their circumstances wouldn’t be substantially better than they are now.
Other news of note:
CA Gov. Newsome trolls Trump, says state will draw new Congressional maps to “END TRUMP PRESIDENCY”.
Appeals court allows Trump to continue cutting billions from foreign aid.
Federal judge strikes down religious exemptions that allow employers not to cover birth control.