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President Donald Trump signaled he may skirt Congress to extend his takeover of the Washington, D.C., police, and some congressional Republicans are heeding the call.
Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., said he would vote for extending Trump’s authority but didn’t believe that Senate Democrats would budge and support giving the president more time.
“I’m absolutely in favor of President Trump doing whatever he needs to do,” Marshall told Fox News Digital. “Of course, we want to follow the Constitution, and I need to go back and read what he can do and not do, but I think it’ll take a 60-vote threshold in the Senate to pass this resolution.”
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The provision allows for the president to effectively federalize the local police force for up to 30 days, unless Congress, through a joint resolution, grants him an extension. But questions remain over whether that kind of resolution would hit the Senate’s typical 60-vote threshold or if it could pass through a simple majority.
Trump on Monday invoked a section of the Home Rule Act that governs the district to give himself the authority to take control of the Metropolitan Police Department and has since sent in National Guard troops, alongside FBI and DEA agents, to patrol the streets.
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Republicans control 53 seats in the upper chamber, meaning Democrats may be needed to grant Trump an extension beyond the 30-day window. But Trump, during a press conference Wednesday announcing new Kennedy Center honorees, said that he would be asking for “long-term extensions” and believed Democrats would not “do anything to stop crime.”
Trump also noted he may not need Congress.
“Well, if it’s a national emergency, we can do it without Congress,” Trump said. “But we expect to be … before Congress, very quickly.
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“We’re going to do this very quickly, but we’re going to want extensions,” he added. “I don’t want to call a national emergency. If I have to, I will, but I think the Republicans in Congress will approve this pretty much unanimously.”
House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, whose committee oversees the district, enthusiastically backed Trump’s move to take control of D.C.’s police force Monday. When asked by Fox News Digital if he would back Trump leapfrogging Congress to continue his hold on the local police, a spokesman said, “We support the president’s actions to complete the mission.”
Both Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., initially supported the president’s move to crack down on crime in the district, which was spurred by a recent attack on a former Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) staffer.
When asked for comment on Trump’s latest remarks regarding an extension, Thune’s office referred Fox News Digital to his previous statement on social media in which the GOP leader lauded the administration’s move.
“Washington, D.C., should be a place where people can safely live, visit, work, and raise a family, and [Monday’s] announcement is a positive step in that direction,” he said.
Fox News Digital reached out to Johnson’s office for comment but did not hear back.
A clearer picture of where lawmakers stand will likely have to wait, given that they are out of town in their respective states and districts for much of the 30-day window. But the issue will likely be front of mind when they return after Labor Day.
Still, Trump already has some public support from Republicans for extending his timeframe.
Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., told Fox News Digital in a statement he fully supported “President Trump’s plan to make D.C. safe again, and will back up his efforts in the Senate.”
And Sen. Mike Lee, who has a bill that would repeal the Home Rule Act and federalize the district, similarly would support extending the 30-day window, “with the ultimate goal of working with him to pass the BOWSER Act and restore full Congressional oversight of the city.”
“The safety and sanity of our nation’s capital should not depend upon having good presidents in the Oval Office, but I’m glad we have one now,” the Utah Republican told Fox News Digital in a statement.
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