Indiana Stories
Around the Corn (Quick Headlines)
Planned Parenthood at risk in Indiana
Citing a SCOTUS decision from last month that allows South Carolina to exclude Planned Parenthood from its Medicaid program, Attorney General Todd Rokita’s office wants to vacate a 12-year-old injunction on an abortion provider state funding ban in Indiana- potentially cutting off the organization - which also provides birth control, cancer screenings, HIV prevention, sexually transmitted infection testing and treatment, vaccinations and wellness exams - from any state money.
Appeals Court Upholds Abortion Ban
The Indiana Court of Appeals on Monday affirmed a ruling by a trial court judge upholding the state’s near-total abortion ban, specifically provisions relating to medical providers and potential exemptions.
The underlying case initially centered on the risk to the health of the mother and the rights of providers, delaying the implementation of Indiana’s ban by roughly one year. After an Indiana Supreme Court ruling in favor of the state’s ban — though left the door open for future challenges — plaintiffs, represented by [ACLU Indiana], amended their complaint to narrow their focus.
That amended version is the one that the Indiana Court of Appeals weighed on Monday.
Another challenge, regarding whether Indiana’s ban violates its religious freedom law, is ongoing.
Another Appeals Court Sides w/ Mothers in Attendant Care Case
A federal appeals court affirmed a lower court’s preliminary injunction Wednesday, allowing two Hoosier mothers to continue providing state-reimbursed caregiving services to their medically fragile children.
Responding to a nearly $1 billion projected Medicaid shortfall, state leaders with the Family and Social Services Administration made several changes in 2024 and halted a program that paid parents to be caregivers to their children with medically complex conditions. The attendant care program for Legally Responsible Individuals paid parents an hourly, livable wage but roughly 1,600 families were transitioned to another service that paid a per diem stipend at a far lower rate.
Two mothers sued and were eventually granted a preliminary injunction, which the U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed this week.
Indy reverses course on Fountain Square homeless camp, will house residents before shutdown
After weeks of sharp criticism, Indianapolis leaders have again changed their approach to a prominent Fountain Square homeless camp and will allow residents to remain at the site until they are offered housing.
The Office of Public Health and Safety announced Aug. 15 that residents who still live at or recently left the homeless camp along Leonard Street will be housed through Streets to Home Indy, a new city-backed initiative to place more than 300 people known to be living on the streets into apartments by next June. At each camp, the process is expected to take four to six weeks.
With the decision, Merkley is in effect doing what critics urged him to do during a contentious town hall held days after his July 25 decision to close the camp by Aug. 11. Instead of pushing people from one tent encampment to another, advocates for people who are homeless say service providers should offer people stable housing and case management.
Change of Republican council leadership in Indianapolis
Republicans on the Indianapolis City-County Council have chosen new leadership. Councilor Michael-Paul Hart was in the position for less than a year. During a caucus meeting this week, fellow Republicans voted to remove him as minority leader.
Hart represents a southeast side district. He said fellow councilors told him that he was doing too much, too fast.
Republican councilors voted to reinstate Brian Mowery as minority leader. Mowery held the minority position for the past four years.
EPA cuts funding for lower-income solar program, including more than $117 million for Indiana
The federal government canceled grant funding to help lower-income and disadvantaged communities afford solar panels. That includes more than $117 million for projects in Indiana.
The $7 billion Solar For All program set up under the Biden administration aimed to lower residents' energy bills and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin made the announcement on X Thursday. He said the agency plans to follow the intent of the "One Big Beautiful Bill."
"EPA no longer has the authority to administer the program or the appropriated funds to keep this boondoggle alive," Zeldin said.
Lower-income Hoosiers are more likely to live in older, less energy-efficient homes that use more power. Advocates said putting solar on these homes not only lowers their energy bills, but also reduces the need for more power plants — which all electric utility customers pay for.
The funding cut comes at a time when the average Indiana resident's bill has gone up by $28 a month since last year.
IDEM sends letter, halts some work over Amazon's construction impact on wetlands
The Indiana Department of Environmental Management halted some work at the new Amazon data center near New Carlisle.
They sent a letter to Amazon and Walbridge Construction, the company building the facility, so they can resubmit their plans.
The letter also stated that Amazon had an incomplete application that would affect over nine acres of wetlands.
The unauthorized impact on the wetlands violated two Indiana codes: Prohibiting discharge, emission or allowance of contaminants or waste causing pollution and prohibits the disposal of inorganic or organic matter into Indiana's waters.
Amazon has 30 days to resubmit plans for approval or risk denial of their application.
Indiana third grade reading scores improve at record-breaking rate, reach pre-pandemic levels
Statewide, 87.3% of third graders scored proficient on the state test, the IREAD, up nearly 5 percentage points from the 82.5% proficiency rate in 2024. The jump represents the largest single-year increase since the assessment began in 2013, according to state data presented Wednesday. And it breaks the improvement record set last year, when scores increased less than one percentage point from 2023 to 2024.
The increase comes after concerted efforts in elementary schools to help students pass the IREAD and thereby avoid mandatory retention in third grade under a law that went into effect for the 2025-26 school year.
The trend for IREAD scores is notably different than for ILEARN results, which came out last month and showed that English language arts scores have remained essentially unchanged across the state even as math scores have improved.
Vote Centers - Allen, Hamilton Counties weighing switch
Nearly 73% – 67 of Indiana’s 92 counties – use vote centers on Election Day, according to Indiana Secretary of State Diego Morales’ website. Marion County, which includes Indianapolis, made the switch in 2018.
Voters urge Allen County Election Board to reconsider plan for 39 vote centers
Election officials said Friday they are confident 39 universal polling places would be enough to handle Allen County, but voters urged board members to consider more locations if they decide to switch to vote centers.
The Allen County Election Board has proposed replacing 110 polling places on Election Day with less than 40 vote centers that would accept all registered Allen County voters instead of only those who live in a specified geographic area.
People who shared their thoughts Friday on the proposed vote centers don’t oppose having places where people can vote, regardless of precinct, they said. They are concerned that 39 vote centers will not be enough to allow full accessibility with minimal barriers.
Some people, including Allen County Democratic Party Chairman Chad Wierzbinski, asked the board to slow down the process of deciding on a change. Indianapolis reduced its number of polling places by less than 1% when it switched to vote centers. The local board has proposed cutting about 64% of places to vote.
Hamilton County’s plan to implement vote centers draws mixed response
Moving to voting centers would eliminate one of the most common problems to arise on Election Day: Voters showing up at the wrong precinct and being turned away. Board member Greg Purvis described this as “a persistent and real problem.”
County officials are proposing 52 vote centers, less than half the number of polling locations open during the most recent election. Based on the number of voters in Hamilton County, state law would only require 26 vote centers.
A switch to vote centers would allow the county to hire fewer poll workers. Currently, 500 to 700 workers are needed, but with the proposed model only 400 to 500 workers would be required.
Rokita probes DEI at Butler, Notre Dame
His office recently issued civil investigative demands — similar to a subpoena — to the University of Notre Dame and Butler University, probing into diversity, equity and inclusion practices.
A U.S. Supreme Court decision in 2023 struck down affirmative action in college admissions. It has led to broader challenges to diversity programs and initiatives across higher education.
In the Aug. 6 letter to Notre Dame, Rokita said “I appreciate the contributions that Notre Dame makes to our state and country and respect the University’s religious mission. However, neither Notre Dame’s religious mission nor the benefits it may provide to the state would excuse the University from complying with civil rights and nonprofit laws.”
The Aug. 13 letter to Butler included similar language, but focused more on the nonprofit status: “The suggestion by your attorney in your June 27 Response that the Office of the Attorney General lacks authority to investigate potential legal violations committed by a private nonprofit university is incorrect. As a domestic nonprofit corporation organized and operating under Indiana law, Butler University is subject to Indiana’s nonprofit statute.”
Gerrymandering, cont
Background: The nation’s top elected leader, President Donald Trump, has pressured GOP-led states to redraw the boundaries of their congressional districts in the hopes of keeping the slim Republican majority, starting with Texas. Republicans in the Lone Star State unveiled maps that could net their party an additional five seats but many House Democrats fled to Illinois, preventing the maps from advancing.
Vice President JD Vance traveled to Indiana last week to make a personal redistricting pitch to Gov. Mike Braun and Republican legislative leaders, who haven’t publicly committed to moving forward.
California Democrats unveil their new congressional map to counter Republicans
Democrats in California's state legislature have released a proposal for a new congressional map that could give their party up to five new seats.
It's a major step forward for Gov. Gavin Newsom's redistricting plans and the escalating race between the two major parties as they seek to pick up additional U.S. House seats in next year's midterm elections.
Newsom has said that he will call a Nov. 4 special election, so California voters can decide whether to adopt the new districts. That election would bypass the state's independent redistricting commission.
Indiana Dems huddle with Texas counterparts
A half-dozen Indiana House Democrats met with their Texas colleagues Wednesday in Chicago to oppose unprecedented mid-cycle redistricting efforts, a process that typically occurs once in a decade. Earlier that same day, national nonpartisan election advocates softened their uniform opposition to gerrymandering, saying they recognized the “wide-reaching crisis in our democracy.”
Rep. Ed DeLaney, of Indianapolis, likened the effort to “congressional-level shoplifting.”
Trump invites IN GOP to White House
Indiana House and Senate Republicans confirmed Friday that the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs invited their caucuses to talk with senior officials in Washington, D.C., later this month.
The meeting is part of a series of meetings the Trump Administration is holding with delegations from several states. While redistricting is not officially on the list of topics Indiana lawmakers will discuss with federal policymakers, some state legislators have said they’re preparing for that conversation.
MAGA personalities turn up pressure on Hoosier Republicans
White House Intergovernmental Affairs Director Alex Meyer in his personal capacity has called several lawmakers in the state pressing them to redistrict, according to a person familiar with the calls granted anonymity to discuss them.
TPUSA’s Charlie Kirk on X:
Are Indiana House Speaker @tmhuston and Senate President @bray_rodric going to ignore President Trump, the majority of their voters, and the GOP Grassroots across the country by REFUSING to redistrict Indiana’s Congressional Seats? Let’s hope they are better than that! 🤔
At the same time, a recent robocall received by a POLITICO reporter living in Indiana accuses Democratic Govs. Gavin Newsom of California and Kathy Hochul of New York of using redistricting with a goal of “ending the Trump presidency” and urges listeners to call GOP state Rep. David Hall and tell him to back the effort.
Braun Noncommittal as some GOP reps balk
“I think it's bad form, I think it's inadvisable. It's probably contrary to Indiana law, and I've expressed my reservation about it to some of our elected leadership.” – Former GOP Indiana House Speaker Brian Bosma
Multiple have described themselves as a “hard no,” including Reps. Danny Lopez of Carmel and Jim Lucas of Seymour.
“Just a few years ago, our General Assembly undertook the complex redistricting process based on up-to-date census data, drawing fair maps that ensure every Hoosier vote counts, We should stand by that work.” - Lopez, on X
“I don’t believe Republicans should stoop to the level of Democrats on this issue. Republicans hold about 90% of all local offices statewide and once the voter rolls get purged of illegals, we will hold an even more commanding lead. Democrats can’t compete with their Socialist policies and ideology and if there are seats that need targeted, we should do it the old fashioned way and campaign harder in those districts.” - Lucas, on Facebook
Mooresville Rep. Craig Haggard emphasized that Indiana is a “solid Republican state” that has gone for Trump three times in a Monday statement to the Capital Chronicle. He added that he’s been “hearing from constituents and I do not believe at this time there is an appetite for redistricting in our communities.”
WEHT reported that Wadesville Sen. Jim Tomes doesn’t think redistricting is needed right now because the lines are fairly drawn. He similarly noted the GOP is in good shape for the midterms.
US/World News
Quick Headlines
The indictment alleges that Latoya Cantrell, the Mayor of New Orleans, and Jeffrey Paul Vappie, a member of her Executive Protection Unit (EPU), developed a personal relationship in October 2021. To conceal their relationship and maximize their time together, they allegedly created a scheme to defraud the City of New Orleans by engaging in personal activities while Vappie was on duty and being paid for providing protection.
Appeals Court OKs CFPB Gutting
Groups that represent CFPB employees or use the agency to protect consumers from predatory banking sued months ago, after Trump replaced the agency’s director shortly after he took office and the administration paused the CFPB’s efforts. The administration then canceled the agency’s lease for its headquarters building, and terminated or planned to cut more than 80% of the agency’s workforce.
The appeals court, however, reiterated that some functions of the CFPB, like responding to consumer complaints, can’t be shut down. But the ruling Friday took at face value the Trump administration’s argument it hasn’t decided to shut down the CFPB in full, and cited the lack of existence of a memo specifying that the CFPB would be closed.
A trio of environmental stories
Global talks to develop a landmark treaty to end plastic pollution have once again failed.
The UN negotiations, the sixth round of talks in just under three years, were due to end on Thursday but countries continued to negotiate into the night in the hopes of breaking a deadlock.
There remained a split between a group of about 100 nations calling for curbs on production of plastic, and oil states pushing for a focus on recycling.
Hurricane Erin exploded in strength and became a major storm in Atlantic waters just north of the Caribbean on Saturday, rapidly powering up from a tropical storm in a single day.
The first Atlantic hurricane of 2025, Erin reached Category 5 status before weakening somewhat and becoming a Category 4 storm, with maximum sustained winds of 150 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.
The storm's center was located about 150 miles northeast of San Juan, Puerto Rico, and it was heading toward the west at 15 mph.
While the hurricane's center was not expected to strike land, it threatened to dump flooding rains on islands in the region.
The death toll from heavy monsoon floods and landslides in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir continues to rise rapidly, with at least 307 people confirmed dead.
In July, Punjab, home to nearly half of Pakistan's 255 million people, recorded 73% more rainfall than the previous year and more deaths than in the entire previous monsoon.
Scientists say that climate change has made weather events more extreme and more frequent.
Northern Pakistan is also one of the most glaciated areas in the region, but they are fast thinning and retreating because of global warming - meaning debris such as rocks, soil, and other materials are vulnerable to being dislodged.
State Department offers $6 million reward in Russian crypto scheme
The State and Treasury departments are offering rewards of up to $6 million for information leading to arrests in a Russian-operated cryptocurrency scheme, officials announced Thursday.
Garantex, a Russian-operated cryptocurrency exchange, allegedly used a series of criminals and cybercrime organizations to launder billions of dollars using hacking software, ransomware, terrorism and drug trafficking schemes, the FBI and Secret Service said.
Trump/Putin Summit
Russia’s reaction to Donald Trump’s summit with Vladimir Putin in Alaska has been nothing short of jubilant, with Moscow celebrating the fact that the Russian leader met his US counterpart without making concessions and now faces no sanctions despite rejecting Trump’s ceasefire demands.
Putin on Friday demanded Ukraine withdraw from Donetsk and Luhansk as a condition for ending the war, but offered Trump a freeze along the remaining frontline, two sources with direct knowledge of the talks said.
On Saturday morning, Trump also publicly dropped plans for an immediate ceasefire he had himself championed for months, instead embracing Putin’s preferred path to ending the war: pushing through a far-reaching agreement before halting any fighting
Tatiana Stanovaya, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Centre, said: “Trump now appears to be shifting much of the responsibility on to Kyiv and Europe. Ukraine is likely to face increased pressure from the US to begin substantive discussions of Putin’s conditions.”
She added that Trump was “once again clearly charmed and impressed by his interlocutor”, referring to the warm body language and effusive compliments the US president directed at Putin.
Secret papers left in public printer
U.S. State Department documents containing sensitive government information were discovered on a public printer at an Alaska hotel, two hours before a high-stakes summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Eight pages — containing a schedule, several phone numbers of government employees, and a luncheon menu — were found in a public hotel printer at Hotel Captain Cook in Anchorage, a 20-minute drive from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson where the two world leaders met Friday to discuss the future of the war in Ukraine.
Trump to host Zelenskyy next week
President Donald Trump will host Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Washington, D.C., on Monday after Trump’s latest meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, as Trump said he now believes the “best way” to end Russia’s war with Ukraine is to “go directly to a peace agreement.”
Zelensky, who wrote Saturday he held a “long and substantive” conversation with Trump, said he would meet with Trump in Washington, D.C. to “discuss all of the details regarding ending the killing and the war.”
This Week in Epstein
Judge rejects Trump administration's request to unseal grand jury testimony
A federal judge in New York has denied the Trump administration's motion to unseal grand jury testimony from the criminal case against Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell.
The transcripts would "not reveal new information of any consequence" about Epstein and Maxwell's crimes, according to [U.S. District Judge Paul] Engelmayer, who suggested that the Trump administration's push to release documents might be an intentional "diversion.""Its entire premise -- that the Maxwell grand jury materials would bring to light meaningful new information about Epstein's and Maxwell's crimes, or the Government's investigation into them -- is demonstrably false," he wrote.
Engelmayer wrote that the transcripts contain material already in the public record and lack any firsthand information about Epstein's and Maxwell's crimes. The records do not identify anyone other than Epstein or Maxwell who had sexual contact with a minor, mention any clients, shed light on their methods, or provide new information about Epstein's death, Engelmayer wrote.
"Insofar as the motion to unseal implies that the grand jury materials are an untapped mine lode of undisclosed information about Epstein or Maxwell or confederates, they definitively are not that.
Maxwell cleared for work release?
[This week], a claim circulated online that a federal prison in Texas cleared Jeffrey Epstein associate and convicted sex offender Ghislaine Maxwell to leave the facility on work release. The claim came from a Substack blog post by Allison Gill (Muller She Wrote), the owner of an independent podcast network and a former government employee.
Gill's blog post included screenshots of what she claimed was Maxwell's Bureau of Prisons (BOP) record that showed a "custody level" that implied Maxwell was allowed to leave prison to work. Snopes could not independently verify Gill's screenshots because the blog post used an anonymous source. A BOP spokesperson said the agency could not vouch for the screenshots' authenticity..
However, according to BOP guidelines, minimum security prisons like FPC Bryan, to which Maxwell transferred on Aug. 1, 2025, can only house inmates with custody levels that allow them to leave the facility's secure perimeter for work. Therefore, according to the BOP's own guidelines, Maxwell would have such a custody level.
This Week in Israel/Gaza
Israel bombards Gaza City as UK and allies demand action against 'unfolding famine'
Israel's war cabinet voted on Monday to take over Gaza City, a move condemned at an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council later that day. On Tuesday the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it was "at the beginning of a new state of combat".
Meanwhile the UK, EU, Australia, Canada and Japan issued a statement saying "famine is unfolding in front of our eyes" and urged action to "reverse starvation".
On Tuesday members of an international group of former leaders known as "The Elders" for the first time called the war in Gaza an "unfolding genocide" and blamed Israel for causing famine among its population.
Following a visit to the Gaza border, Helen Clark and Mary Robinson, a former prime minister of New Zealand and a former president of Ireland, said in a joint statement: "What we saw and heard underlines our personal conviction that there is not only an unfolding, human-caused famine in Gaza. There is an unfolding genocide."
International Criticism
The targeted destruction of Gaza’s healthcare system by the Israel Defense Forces amounts to “medicide,” UN experts* said [Wednesday], accusing Israel of deliberately attacking and starving healthcare workers, paramedics and hospitals to wipe out medical care in the besieged enclave.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned Israel about potentially listing the country’s armed forces in an upcoming UN report on sexual violence, according to the spokesperson for Israel’s mission to the UN.
“I am putting Israeli armed and security forces on notice for potential listing in the next reporting cycle, due to significant concerns of patterns of certain forms of sexual violence that have been consistently documented by the United Nations,” Guterres wrote in the letter sent to Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the UN, on Monday.
The UN’s Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict publishes an annual report titled Conflict-Related Sexual Violence, in which it documents sexual violence committed in armed conflict.
Australia latest to recognize Palestinian state
Australia will recognize a Palestinian state, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Monday, joining the leaders of France, Britain and Canada in signaling they would do so.
Al Jazeera journalist Anas al-Sharif has been killed alongside several other colleagues in a targeted Israeli attack on a tent housing journalists in Gaza City.
In a statement confirming the deliberate killing of al-Sharif, Israel’s military accused the journalist of heading a Hamas cell and “advancing rocket attacks against Israeli civilians and [Israeli] troops”.
Since Israel launched its war on the enclave in October 2023, it has routinely accused Palestinian journalists in Gaza of being Hamas members as part of what rights groups say is an effort to discredit their reporting of Israeli abuses.
The Israeli military has killed more than 200 reporters and media workers since its bombardment began, including several Al Jazeera journalists and their relatives.
Europe, Arab countries and the United Nations, alongside Israeli rights groups, on Thursday assailed a government plan to greenlight the construction of thousands of Israeli homes in a contentious area of the West Bank, after the move was announced by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.
The far-right politician said that he intends to approve tenders to build more than 3,000 housing units in the controversial E1 settlement project between Jerusalem and Ma’ale Adumim, a plan that he claimed Thursday “buries the idea of a Palestinian state.”
The E1 settlement project has been frozen for decades amid fierce opposition from the international community, including past US administrations, which feared the new settlement neighborhood would prevent the establishment of a contiguous, viable Palestinian state.
The plan would connect the Jerusalem and Ma’ale Adumim metropolitan areas, while simultaneously scuttling the prospect of a contiguous Palestinian presence between the population centers of Bethlehem, East Jerusalem, and Ramallah, which has long been considered the basis for a Palestinian state.
Meta AI Chatbot having “sensual” convos with kids?
An internal Meta policy document, seen by Reuters, reveals the social-media giant’s rules for chatbots, which have permitted provocative behavior on topics including sex, race and celebrities.
An internal Meta Platforms document detailing policies on chatbot behavior has permitted the company’s artificial intelligence creations to “engage a child in conversations that are romantic or sensual,” generate false medical information and help users argue that Black people are “dumber than white people.”
The fact that Meta’s AI chatbots flirt or engage in sexual roleplay with teenagers has been reported previously by the Wall Street Journal, and Fast Company has reported that some of Meta’s sexually suggestive chatbots have resembled children. But the document seen by Reuters provides a fuller picture of the company’s rules for AI bots.
The standards prohibit Meta AI from encouraging users to break the law or providing definitive legal, healthcare or financial advice with language such as “I recommend.”
They also prohibit Meta AI from using hate speech. Still, there is a carve-out allowing the bot “to create statements that demean people on the basis of their protected characteristics.” Under those rules, the standards state, it would be acceptable for Meta AI to “write a paragraph arguing that black people are dumber than white people.”
The standards also state that Meta AI has leeway to create false content so long as there’s an explicit acknowledgement that the material is untrue.
One Big Thing - Police State?
Review of what happened in LA
In June, following protests related to ICE raids, President Trump authorized the deployment of 700 Marines and 4,000 California National Guard troops to Los Angeles. This deployment was intended to protect federal buildings and personnel, but it sparked political controversy and legal challenges, with California's Governor Gavin Newsom disputing the need for any military presence. The troops primarily guarded federal facilities and supported federal immigration operations, including raids and enforcement actions.
Deployment Justification:
The Trump administration cited the need to protect federal property and personnel from what they characterized as violent mobs during protests against ICE operations.
Legal Challenges:
Governor Newsom challenged the deployment, arguing it was unnecessary and violated the Posse Comitatus Act, which restricts the use of the military for law enforcement purposes within the United States.
Impact on the National Guard:
The deployment reportedly caused morale issues within the California National Guard, with some members expressing concern about the mission and its impact on their ability to respond to other state emergencies, like wildfires.
Withdrawal:
Following legal challenges and public pressure, the troops began to be withdrawn in late July and early August, with the last of the Marines and National Guard leaving by early August.
This Week, DC
Trump says he’s placing Washington police under federal control and activating the National Guard
President Donald Trump said Monday he’s taking over Washington’s police department and activating 800 members of the National Guard in the hopes of reducing crime, even as city officials stressed crime is already falling in the nation’s capital.
“The administration’s actions are unprecedented, unnecessary, and unlawful,” District of Columbia Attorney General Brian Schwalb said. “There is no crime emergency in the District of Columbia.”
Trump invoked Section 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act in an executive order to declare a “crime emergency” so his administration could take over the city’s police force. He signed a directive for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to activate the National Guard.
Police statistics show homicides, robberies and burglaries are down this year when compared with this time in 2024. Overall, violent crime is down 26% compared with this time a year ago.
“Big Balls” Assault Precipitated This?
A 19-year-old man known as “Big Balls” who played a key role in the DOGE initiative to shrink the size of government was assaulted over the weekend in Washington, according to city police.
Edward Coristine, who still works for the government, was assaulted by approximately 10 juveniles near Dupont Circle about 3 a.m. Sunday, according to a police report obtained by POLITICO.
Who’s Next?
Trump mentions other “blue” cities
"You look at Chicago, how bad it is. You look at Los Angeles, how bad it is," Trump said Monday. "We have other cities that are very bad. New York has a problem. And then you have, of course, Baltimore and Oakland. We don't even mention that anymore — they're so far gone. … We're not going to lose our cities over this, and this will go further."
"I think it's very notable that each and every one of the cities called out by the president has a Black mayor, and most of those cities are seeing historic lows in violent crime," Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott told CNN. "The president could learn from us instead of throwing things at us."
Trump has a lot more power over D.C. than he does over other cities.
That's because D.C. is a "federally created and controlled city," [NYU law professor Rick] Hills explains. The 1973 Home Rule Act gave D.C. its limited form of self-governance while retaining certain powers for Congress and the president.
Among them, the president controls D.C.'s National Guard and can use the D.C. police force for "federal purposes" if he determines there are "special conditions of an emergency nature," though he needs authorization from Congress to do so for more than 30 days.
That's not the case anywhere else in the U.S., Hills says.
Are Indiana cities in jeopardy?
Trump could not influence local police forces in other cities the same way he can the MPD, as the federal law that gives him some sway over the city’s police applies solely to Washington.
The president would have more options in deploying the military to other cities, Nunn said, though even then, his power is not absolute.
The clearest way Trump could [use the military in other cities] is by invoking the Insurrection Act, which says that in the case of an insurrection or rebellion against the government, the president can deploy the military “as he considers necessary to suppress the insurrection” or rebellion.
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