President Donald Trump is envisioning a sweeping crime bill and billions of dollars in new funding for the nation’s capital. His Republican allies in Congress are largely in the dark on the details.
Multiple times this month, Trump has said he’s working on crime legislation with GOP congressional leaders. His latest comment came early Wednesday morning when he posted on Truth Social that he is working with Speaker Mike Johnson, Senate Majority Leader John Thune and other Republican lawmakers on a “Comprehensive Crime Bill” with “more to follow.”
There have been some early conversations between White House officials and House GOP leadership aides about legislation related to Trump’s public-safety crackdown in Washington as well as certain other crime provisions.
But Trump’s latest comments have puzzled Republicans, including members of leadership and key congressional committees, who don’t know what “comprehensive” measure the president is talking about, according to seven Republicans granted anonymity to speak candidly.
Trump, who speaks frequently with Johnson, discussed the president’s Washington crime campaign with the speaker on a call Tuesday morning, including extending his current temporary control over the D.C. police, according to two other people granted anonymity to describe the private conversation. Johnson was supportive of an extension, they said.
The House Oversight Committee, which has jurisdiction over D.C. issues, is already planning to advance a slate of bills in September, spanning efforts to crack down on juvenile crime in Washington, overhaul the city’s education system and unwind certain policing policies enacted by the D.C. Council. But it’s the Judiciary Committee that would have to advance any crime-related bills that are national in scope.
Trump’s request to extend his 30-day D.C. police takeover is adding a wrinkle to the House GOP’s plans, since his authority is set to expire Sept. 9 — just one week after lawmakers return to Washington. Republican leaders will need to advance it quickly — likely in a resolution they will put directly on the floor — leaving a broader package for later.
Even if the House quickly passes the extension, its fate in the Senate is uncertain. Trump said during a marathon Cabinet meeting Tuesday that he’s planning to speak with Thune about the matter. But because of the chamber’s filibuster rule, Republicans can’t act alone to approve the measure, and Senate Democrats have signaled they’ll block any attempt to do so.
Still, Republicans are eager to force Democrats into tough votes on crime, which they see as advantageous political ground — especially with House GOP leaders facing ongoing headaches over the Jeffrey Epstein case and the administration’s handling of it.
Republicans are also still waiting on details on what Trump has described as a $2 billion bill to “beautify” Washington. Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Katie Britt of Alabama are taking the lead on the D.C. funding bill, and Trump spoke with Graham, who is currently traveling overseas, about the president’s plan for the capital city earlier this month.
“I’m going to try to find him the money to repave the roads, take the graffiti off the building, refurbish the parks and give homeless people some place to go other than a tent,” Graham said at a South Carolina event last week.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said at a news conference Wednesday that she, too, was sketchy on the details of what Trump is proposing with the federal funding infusion. But she said “we will be supportive of the president’s $2 billion request to improve infrastructure, especially federal infrastructure, in the District.”
But Trump is now making clear he wants a major crime bill, too — and fast.
The president has spent weeks bashing Democrats on crime, particularly governors who are seen as key 2028 presidential race contenders, and he’s eager to leverage a winning and unifying issue for Republicans on Capitol Hill.
But just how ambitious the crime bill ends up being remains an open question. Even the D.C.-focused legislation stands to be a significant undertaking on Capitol Hill next month — with GOP leaders already scrambling to hammer out plans to fund the government, pass a defense authorization bill and a litany of other items this fall.
