Congressman Wesley Hunt, R-Texas, criticized Democrats and certain media figures for their opposition to President Donald Trump’s decision to deploy the National Guard in Washington, D.C., aiming to address the city’s ongoing crime surge.
Hunt shared that his own apartment complex in the Navy Yard area was burglarized last year, with a front desk attendant robbed of her belongings just floors away from his 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.”
Trump’s deployment of federal forces to combat crime in D.C. has drawn criticism from Democrats. House Judiciary ranking member Jamie Raskin, D-Md., recently introduced a resolution to block the president from keeping service members in the district.
Because Washington, D.C., is not a state, Trump invoked Section 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, which allows him to declare a public emergency and deploy federal resources.
“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 said in an Aug. 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.”
Hunt also highlighted instances where Democratic governors deployed their state National Guard forces.
“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 emphasized the positive impact of the military presence in D.C., with press secretary Karoline Leavitt reporting that 465 arrests have been made since the operation began, including an MS-13 gang member illegally in the U.S. with prior convictions for drug possession and driving while intoxicated (DWI).
“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 said.
Residents have noticed the difference as well. James Laverty, a Capitol Hill staffer, told Fox News that the National Guard’s presence has improved safety in certain neighborhoods.
“In certain areas, like Navy Yard and U Street, it feels much safer than it did just a week ago,” Laverty said. “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.”
