WASHINGTON — It’s been almost a month since President Donald Trump federalized the police force in Washington, D.C., and deployed the National Guard and other agents to its streets. With tension building and more power struggles ahead, local leaders are heading to Capitol Hill to make their case.

But it won’t be easy. As House Republicans line up a broad range of bills that could roll back the District’s autonomy and crime policies, advocates have a tricky task — making the local seem universal, while also convincing lawmakers that D.C. is its own unique community, not a federal testing ground.

“What we’re asking for today is for all of Congress, but especially congressional Democrats, to vote down every single one of these anti-D.C. bills,” said Ankit Jain, one of D.C.’s two shadow senators. “And not just out of charity for the people of D.C., but as a necessary act of protection for their own constituents, because this is not stopping in D.C.”

Jain spoke Thursday at a news conference outside the Capitol, joined by several members of the D.C. Council, including Charles Allen, Robert White, Brianne K. Nadeau, Janeese Lewis George and Zachary Parker. They are seeking to shore up support at a dicey time for Democrats in Congress, who are in the minority in both chambers and have been hurt by accusations that they’re too soft on crime.

Activists on Thursday kicked things off with a familiar chant: “When D.C. is under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back.” But as local officials fanned out on the Hill this week, along with members of the statehood advocacy group Free DC, they tried out some more nuanced messages.

Armed troops policing neighborhoods is a slippery slope, they argued, not to mention bad for the economy. “Workers are afraid to show up to the job. People are afraid to go support their businesses,” Allen said.

Imagine what it would be like for something similar to happen in your own community, they urged, noting residents don’t know how this will end. While Trump’s takeover of the local police department is statutorily limited to 30 days unless Congress approves an extension, there’s no equivalent limit on the National Guard deployment.

Meanwhile, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is expected to mark up a series of bills as soon as next week that could put Democrats in a tough spot. Among the measures that could be considered, according to a summary obtained by Roll Call, are ones focused on policing and sentencing strategies in D.C. that Republicans have long decried. Some could do away with the city’s elected attorney general, lower the age for juveniles to be tried as adults, and ramp up penalties on homeless encampments.

Local leaders met with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., this week. And the D.C Council recently contracted the lobbying firm Capitol Counsel for the month of September, according to a spokesperson for Council Chairman Phil Mendelson.

The advocates are hoping to avoid a repeat of 2023, when dozens of congressional Democrats across both chambers joined Republicans in flexing their power over D.C. As violent incidents spiked in the district, they exercised Congress’ right to override the D.C. Council, squashing its newly passed revision of the local criminal code. That disapproval resolution was then signed by President Joe Biden.

More recently, 11 House Democrats crossed the aisle in June and voted with Republicans on a bill that would end D.C.’s “sanctuary city” stance. That measure has not yet gotten a vote in the Senate. And House appropriators on Wednesday approved on party lines a fiscal 2026 Financial Services and General Government spending bill packed with policy riders to roll back D.C. policies related to everything from traffic laws to reproductive health.

“If these bills pass, it will be because congressional Democrats allowed them to pass,” Jain said of the coming Oversight panel effort. “So what we need right now is for Congress to vote no on every single one of these bills.”

‘The road to fascism’

Their focus is not solely on Democrats. White, a former mayoral candidate who has accused Mayor Muriel Bowser of being too acquiescent in response to federal control over the District, said he’d met with Republican lawmakers as well.

“Some, it’s been clear, whatever the president says they’re going to believe,” White said during the event outside the Capitol. “But I believe there’s still some Republicans who believe we shouldn’t be taking money from national defense to put the Guard in D.C. There are Republicans still who don’t believe in a big federal government, so they should not like this increased presence in D.C.”

The fight may also play out in court. D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb on Thursday filed a lawsuit challenging Trump’s deployment of the Guard, arguing in part that the troops are illegally being used for law enforcement purposes. Schwalb also sued in August over Trump’s moves over the Metropolitan Police Department.

The latest suit was filed days after a federal judge ruled against Trump’s deployment of the National Guard to Los Angeles in June, and as Trump signals he’ll soon deploy troops to other American cities.

Meanwhile, in D.C., the presence of the Guardsmen and other federal agents has been polarizing, to say the least. Bowser has attempted to walk a fine line with Trump, issuing an executive order earlier this week ordering indefinite cooperation between the District and the federal government.

Others have been sharply critical of the new reality. Joining the councilmembers outside the Capitol on Thursday, Rep. Glenn Ivey, D-Md., said he was recently at dinner with his wife on the Wharf — a waterfront neighborhood replete with upscale eateries — and was unnerved by the sight of dozens of Guardsmen in camo carrying M4 assault rifles. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., spoke about the “whiplash” D.C. residents are experiencing.

“One moment you’ve got the National Guard sitting around looking bored, no clear mission, maybe picking up litter,” Pressley said. “And then in the next … you’ve got tactical teams swooping in to handcuff and kidnap hardworking dads just trying to get to the job site, or to get their child to school.”

Videos of ICE and other federal agents detaining and, in some cases, roughing up residents have circulated widely on social media in the last few weeks, inducing fear and outrage in many opponents of Trump’s incursion. But some have also celebrated what they see as a deterrent effect in a city that — despite falling rates recently — experiences more crime than most American cities.

“Crime is out of control,” said one senior House Republican aide, who was granted anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the press. The staffer said he’d seen some federal agents around the city, but “it’s not some sort of suffocating presence. I think it will address an immediate need to reduce crime, but long-term solutions are needed.”

A second House GOP staffer — also granted anonymity because he’s not authorized to speak to the press — said he’d like to see more cops in D.C. and more aggressive prosecution of offenders. But he questioned the efficacy of sending the military to do police work.

“Law enforcement is trained to deal with crime,” he said. “Adding U.S. military won’t do anything to lower crime — they’re not trained to do it. In fact, I believe the lack of coordination will undermine cops.”

Trump’s plans to expand to other parts of the country is an existential threat to the nation’s democracy, he said. “It’s the single greatest threat to individual freedom and rights thus far from this administration, long term. Deploying federal troops against Americans is a direct step on the road to fascism.”

_____

©2025 CQ-Roll Call, Inc., All Rights Reserved. Visit cqrollcall.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.