Bowser re-ups call for statehood amid Trump DC crackdown

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) pushed for the District’s statehood again on Tuesday amid President Trump’s crackdown on the nation’s capital.

“We have seen a precipitous lessening of crime in the city, violent crime, especially after a post-COVID spike that we acknowledge, and we got after, and we drove down the numbers in 2023. We reported last year the lowest level of violent crime in 30 years. So, we're not taking our foot off the gas,” Bowser said on “The Breakfast Club” radio show.

“We're continuing to work, but we think that this action kind of plays into his narrative about cities, about using force, about being tough on crime, and I can say a little bit more about why D.C. is different, but it's times like this when America needs to know why your nation's capital, a place where 700,000 taxpaying Americans live, should be the 51st state,” Bowser said, referencing the president’s recent moves on D.C.

While D.C. has three electoral votes in presidential elections, it does not have voting representatives in Congress and the federal government maintains a level of control over the District.

On Monday, Trump announced he was taking federal control of DC’s police department and deploying the National Guard in the city to battle crime.

Bowser has pushed for D.C. statehood before, notably following the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol attack.

“We must get statehood on the president’s desk within the first 100 days of the 117th Congress,” Bowser said in a press conference at the time. “Congress must immediately transfer command of the District of Columbia National Guard from the president of the United States and put it squarely under the command and control of the District of Columbia.