Inside Washington, D.C.’s Union Station, Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and White House aide Stephen Miller tried to stage a photo op with National Guard troops. However, protesters’ chants of “Free D.C.” quickly drowned them out.
Vance dismissed the protest, saying Washington doesn’t need to be freed from protesters, but from lawlessness.
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“I think you hear these guys out here screaming at us. A bunch of crazy protesters. But I’ll tell ya, a couple years ago when I brought my kids here, they were getting screamed at by violent vagrants and it was scaring the hell out of my kids,” Vance said.
Vance will head to Georgia on Thursday to promote the White House’s new “Big Beautiful Bill.” He’s likely to receive a warmer welcome there than he did in Washington on Wednesday.
Trump’s crackdown on crime
Vance praised guard members for “busting their tails” as part of President Donald Trump’s crime crackdown in the nation’s capital. The crackdown includes a federal takeover of the city’s police department.
Critics, including Mayor Muriel Bowser, say the guard shouldn’t be used for law enforcement. They’ve also pointed out that city crime stats are actually down. An investigation is now underway into the crime figures and their interpretation.
The White House insists those numbers have been manipulated.
Extending federal control
Trump’s federal takeover is set to expire after 30 days. However, earlier this month, Trump talked about a bill that would extend that control.
When asked if those extensions are still on the table, Vance said Trump would reevaluate when the time comes.
“We’ll ultimately let the president of the United States determine where we are after 30 days of this, of this emergency order. I think that we’re going to make a lot of progress over the next 20 days,” Vance said. “I think we’re nine days into this thing. But if the president of the United States thinks that he has to extend his order to ensure that people have access to public safety, then that’s exactly what he’ll do.”
