The Trump administration Wednesday moved to take over Washington, D,C.’s Union Station because the president widens his federal crackdown on the nation’s capital.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy mentioned his division will handle the primary rail mass transportation hub in Washington, taking it over from Amtrak subsequent month, as President Trump flexes his energy over numerous features of life within the metropolis.
“He wants Union Station to be beautiful again. He wants transit to be safe again,” Duffy mentioned. “And he wants our nation’s capital to be great again. And today is part of that.”
The takeover comes as Trump expands the federal push that has seen hundreds of Nationwide Guard troops and federal legislation enforcement officers flood into Washington in what he calls a bid to maintain a lid on crime and undocumented immigration.
Union Station, which is situated close to the Capitol, serves 5.7 million passengers a yr and is a hub for Amtrak trains, buses and the town’s Metro subway. It additionally homes eating and retail shops.
Protesters show close to members of the Nationwide Guard as they stand watch exterior Union Station in Washington, DC, on August 20, 2025. (Photograph by SAUL LOEB/AFP by way of Getty Photos)
The Division of Transportation has owned Union Station for about 40 years, nevertheless it has contracted with numerous public companies and entities to handle it.
Trump administration officers have pointed to Union Station as a main instance of Washington’s downside with crime and homelessness, regardless that crime is means down within the district and different huge cities throughout the nation.
Trump mentioned final week he needs $2 billion from Congress to beautify Washington whilst native officers have complained for months that the Republican-led Congress has didn’t move crucial funding for the cash-strapped metropolis authorities.
Trump has the authorized proper to successfully oversee legislation enforcement in Washington, D.C. for a month, however the legislation regulating the district says Congress must give permission for an extended crackdown.
The president threatened to ship troops to different huge cities like Chicago and Baltimore, however hasn’t introduced any concrete plans.
In the meantime, a federal grand jury rebuffed Trump prosecutors’ effort to win a felony indictment towards a Washington, D.C. resident who threw a sandwich at a federal agent within the first days of the crackdown.
The panel took the bizarre step of refusing handy up fees towards the person in a attainable signal that bizarre residents see the federal crackdown as overkill.
Authorities might nonetheless cost the person — a paralegal who was fired from his job on the federal Division of Justice — with misdemeanors within the incident, during which nobody was harm.
Initially Printed: August 27, 2025 at 12:52 PM EDT
