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Congressman Wesley Hunt, R-Texas, blasted Democrats and the members of the media who have been critical of President Donald Trump sending the National Guard to the streets of Washington, D.C., in an effort to curb the rampant crime plaguing the city.
Hunt also revealed that his own DC apartment complex in the Navy Yard area was broken into last year, leaving a front desk attendant robbed of her belongings just several floors away from the congressman’s own unit.
“Downstairs in my apartment complex, there was a woman who was robbed,” Hunt told Fox News Digital. “She had her computer stolen, her phone stolen, and her iPad stolen right behind the desk, and we were all blocks away from the Capitol.”
“I was a three-minute drive away from the Capitol when this happened,” Hunt added. “Across the street from our complex was where Henry Cuellar was robbed at gunpoint. I don’t understand what these [critics] are talking about. It’s not safe.”
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Trump’s military intervention to combat crime in D.C. has been widely criticized by Democrats, with House Judiciary Ranking Member Jamie Raskin, D-Md., introducing a resolution last week to prevent the president from keeping servicemembers in the district.
Because Washington, D.C., is not a state, Trump was able to invoke Section 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, allowing him to declare a public emergency and deploy federal resources into the area.
“Just like I took care of the Border, where you had ZERO Illegals coming across last month, from millions the year before, I will take care of our cherished Capital, and we will make it, truly, GREAT AGAIN,” Trump stated in an August 11 White House fact sheet on the emergency declaration. “Before the tents, squalor, filth, and Crime, it was the most beautiful Capital in the World. It will soon be that again.”
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Hunt also noted the actions of several Democrat governors who used their respective state’s National Guard to combat various issues.
“Tim Walz used the National Guard to implement COVID restrictions on people, not to take care of the murder capital of the United States,” Hunt told Fox. “Gavin Newsom is willing to clean up downtown LA in California for the President of China to come visit, but you won’t clean it up just for everyday citizens when all this crime is happening?”
The White House has also touted the success of the military presence in the nation’s capital, with Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt telling reporters during a Tuesday press briefing that 465 arrests have been made since the start of the operation, including an MS13 gang member illegally in the US with convictions for drug possession and driving while intoxicated (DWI).
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“Thanks to President Trump’s leadership and the outstanding work of both federal and local law enforcement, dangerous gang members like the one picked up last night will not be allowed on the streets of our nation’s capital,” Leavitt told the press.
As for the residents of DC, James Laverty, a staffer on Capitol Hill, told Fox News that the military presence has made a “noticeable difference” in the nation’s capital.
“In certain areas, like Navy Yard and U Street, it feels much safer than it did just a week ago,” Laverty told Fox. “This past weekend, there was a noticeable difference in the vibe late at night, and I think it goes without saying that the impact of the National Guard on the streets is the clear reason for the newly found safe sentiment in DC.”
Preston Mizell is a writer with Fox News Digital covering breaking news. Story tips can be sent to [email protected] and on X @MizellPreston
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