Washington, D.C. — Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) today joined America’s Newsroom to discuss President Trump’s plan to fix Washington D.C.’s out-of-control crime:
In part, Senator Cotton said:
“It’s more dangerous in our nation’s capital than it is in the capitals of many third world countries. I, unfortunately, have had congressional staff and interns up in Washington who themselves have been victimized by violent crime. A couple times a year, when I do onboard briefings for my interns, I have to regrettably explain to them that it’s a dangerous city and they need be aware of their surroundings and probably travel with other people as well. So, President Trump is right that we have to get crime under control. Washington, D.C. is not like any other city in the country. It is the federal city. It is our nation’s capital. That’s why our founding fathers gave the federal government exclusive control over this city. And President Trump is rightly going to use the National Guard, the FBI, the DEA, the Park Police, and other federal law enforcement to augment the D.C. police to get crime under control so it’s once again safe for thousands of Arkansans and millions of Americans to come visit our nation’s capital every year.”
Senator Cotton’s full interview may be found here and below.
Bill Hemmer: Republican out of Arkansas here and Senator, good morning to you. Seems like he’s got a partner in the mayor this time. This relationship has done a 180, it appears that way anyway. Here’s Muriel Bowser yesterday on MSNBC.
Mayor Bowser: So, we know we’re holding the right people and holding the right people accountable. There’s more to do. We need judges. You heard Jeanine Pirro say she needs prosecutors, and we need police in D.C. I’d like to hire 500 great people over the course of the next several years to get our numbers where they need to be and D.C. is hiring. So, if you’re interested in policing in the best city in the world, please reach out to us.
Bill Hemmer: Hey Senator, how’s it going to change?
Senator Cotton: Well, I’m glad to hear Mayor Bowser realizes that crime is out of control in Washington, D.C. It’s more dangerous in our nation’s capital than it is in the capitals of many third world countries. I unfortunately have had congressional staff and interns up in Washington who themselves have been victimized by violent crime. A couple times a year when I do onboard briefings for my interns, I have to regrettably explain to them that it’s a dangerous city and they need be aware of their surroundings and probably travel with other people as well. So, President Trump is right that we have to get crime under control. Washington, D.C. is not like any other city in the country. It is the federal city. It is our nation’s capital. That’s were our founding fathers gave the federal government exclusive control over this city. And President Trump, I think, is rightly going to use the National Guard, the FBI, the DEA, the Park Police, and other federal law enforcement to augment the D.C. police to get crime under control so it’s once again safe for thousands of Arkansans and millions of Americans to come visit our nation’s capital every year.
Dana Perino: The Washington Post Ed Board thinks it’s a little bit too far, saying that a D.C. carjacking is sparking an unhelpful White House crusade and saying such tragic crimes deserve the attention of the President, but it’s exceedingly difficult to see how running D.C.’s police force out of the White House would be a sustainable model for making the Capital city safer. Several years ago, you wrote a very infamous op-ed about the possibility of using National Guard troops to help quell things. As I understand it, what you were suggesting, and I believe what the President is about to announce, it’s not going to take over the police force, it’s to help them to try to get things back under control so that they can have a better, safer city.
Senator Cotton: Yeah, Dana, that’s right. President Trump doesn’t propose to take over the D.C. police, but to augment them with federal law enforcement like the FBI or the DEA or the Park Police and the D.C. National Guard. Remember, the D.C. National Guard is different from any other National Guard. There’s not a governor in Washington, D.C. The D.C. National Guard answers directly to the Secretary of the Army and ultimately to the President himself, that’s why it’s used in Washington, D.C. to help augment the local police. The local police need help as well. And I agree with what the Mayor said about D.C. judges. The D.C. superior court judges are appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. They have a lot of vacancies. I think Washington, D.C. could use a lot of new Trump judges to crack down on crime. What you hear in that Washington Post editorial though is the typical liberal thinking about crime. Oh, if we just simply have more understanding or social services for 16-year-old carjackers, then they’ll become model citizens. That’s simply not the case. What we need is law and order in Washington, D.C.
Bill Hemmer: So, we have been given the two-minute warning. Senator, so if you’ll oblige us, we’re going to hang here with you for the next two minutes. It sounds like this is all hands-on deck, and if that’s the case, how long is this going to take? It seems like it could be a pretty efficient job.
Senator Cotton: Well, yeah, Bill, a lot of this can happen very quickly. You know, visitors to our nation’s Capital have been to the National Mall where the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial is. The National Park Service is responsible for that, but there are literally hundreds of small parks or squares throughout Washington, D.C. that are also under federal jurisdiction that the park police also can go in and remove homeless encampments. They can remove the drug dealers. They can help the D.C. police police the streets of the city and get the criminals off the streets and also scare the criminals once again. So, again they understand that if they’re committing crimes, they’re mugging, they’re committing carjackings, they’re committing violent assaults that can even be murders, they’re going to be arrested, they’re going to be charged and they’re going to be thrown away in prison for a very long time. That’s the way you deter crime.
Dana Perino: And Senator, thank you so much, but the cabinet.