Trump’s Transportation Department Reclaims Control Of Union Station In DC Amid National Guard Takeover

 

Members of the U.S. National Guard patrol Union Station, carrying service pistols. The deployment follows President Donald Trump's announcement placing the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department under federal control and bringing in federal officers and the National Guard to help prevent crime in the capital. 

President Donald Trump’s Department of Transportation will reclaim control of Washington, D.C.’s Union Station, the agency said Wednesday, expanding on the federal takeover of the capital.

Key Facts

The Transportation Department said it will partner with the nonprofit Union Station Redevelopment Corporation, which controls the station, to make repairs to the station, including its elevators, lighting and roof, in addition to security enhancements, predicting the efforts “should unlock opportunities for private investment as part of potential expansion of the station.”

The agency, which has owned Union Station since the early 1980s, while Amtrak is responsible for management and operations.

The Transportation Department said its control of the station has steadily declined over the years through various leases and agreements and that it has since “become dilapidated” and is now “known more as a center for vagrancy than a hub for commerce and travel.”

The agency said it is negotiating a cooperative agreement with the Union Station Redevelopment Corporation and Amtrak, and expects to issue a “formal action” in September.

Tangent

The announcement was coupled with the launch of Amtrak’s new high-speed NextGen Acela train that will travel between Washington and Boston. The trains will travel up to 160 miles per hour, 10 miles faster than existing trains, but on a limited schedule until additional track upgrades are completed. Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner stepped down earlier this year to “ensure that Amtrak continues to enjoy the full faith and confidence of this administration,” after the White House asked him to resign, according to Reuters.

Key Background

National Guard troops have been patrolling Union Station in recent weeks amid Trump’s crime crackdown in the capital. Earlier this month, Trump deployed National Guard troops to patrol Washington, D.C., alleging an increase in crime and homelessness, and ordered a federal takeover of the Metropolitan Police Department. He has threatened to replicate the effort in other cities.