A visibly subdued CNN correspondent conceded that one of Washington, D.C.’s most visited landmarks is cleaner than it has been in decades following the federal takeover of city services.
President Donald Trump ordered multiple federal agencies to help restore law and order in the capital after recent violent incidents, including the murder of a congressional intern and the assault of a former U.S. Department of Government Efficiency leader. More than 800 National Guard members have been deployed, and their presence is already yielding results, CNN’s Gabe Cohen reported Thursday.
Speaking from outside Union Station, Cohen told CNN News Central guest co-host Jessica Dean that the number of vagrants “hanging around” the area has noticeably declined since Trump launched the initiative on Monday.
“This is one of the areas of focus that we have heard a lot of concerns about, crime around Union Station, people who are loitering outside,” Cohen told Dean. “I will tell you, as somebody who walks this route all the time, it does seem like there are fewer people just sort of hanging around, but we don’t know exactly what that is.”
National Guard troops have helped calm areas of the city that were once plagued by violence. Some journalists have privately acknowledged fearing for their safety, even as they reference selective Metropolitan Police statistics indicating that violent crime has declined from its peak several years ago.
“These National Guard troops, they are not here to make arrests. They do have zip ties on their back, but they are really here just for presence and to assist MPD any way they can,” Cohen said. “I will tell you, sources have told me as recently as this morning that Metropolitan Police, that the district itself and the police chief are still the ones ultimately calling the shots when it comes to safety in the district. They have essentially been communicating with those federal partners, but ultimately they are the ones sort of drawing up the game plan and getting assistance from their federal partners.”
“But if you ask the White House, they say it’s Attorney General Pam Bondi and the head of the DEA, Terry Cole, who are the ones who are ultimately in charge here,” Cohen continued. “We’ll see how that dynamic plays out, but again, outside Union Station, this is what folks who live or visit D.C. can expect to see: A lot of federal law enforcement presence.”
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