Interior Secretary Doug Burgum on Monday pledged the support of the U.S. Park Police to President Donald Trump’s extraordinary invocation of federal powers to clamp down on crime and homelessness in the nation’s capital.
Speaking at a White House press event announcing Trump’s order to deploy National Guard troops in the city, Burgum said park officers were grateful for the president’s law enforcement push.
“They are so pleased, the rank and file. President Trump is now allowing them to enforce the law,” Burgum said at the press conference. He also praised his department’s officers for their “great job” in breaking down homeless encampments throughout the city and cleaning up graffiti.
The president signed an executive order Tuesday declaring a crime emergency in the district. He’s invoked a Washington law that allows the president to temporarily take over the city’s police force.
