Newsletter: Friday August 15, 2025
Norton Statement After Rep. Ogles Announces Bill to Allow President to Extend Federalization of D.C. Police Indefinitely |
WASHINGTON, D.C. –– After Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN) announced that he would introduce a bill to amend the Home Rule Act to allow the president to extend the federalization of D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) indefinitely, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) said, “Rep. Ogles’ bill is another in a series of extreme attacks on D.C. home rule. |
Norton Introduces Bill Requiring D.C. National Guard Commanding General to Live in D.C. |
WASHINGTON, D.C. –– Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) introduced a bill to require the Commanding General of the District of Columbia National Guard to reside in D.C. It was marked up and passed by the Committee on Oversight and Reform in 2022. |
Norton, Van Hollen Will Reintroduce Bills to Grant D.C. Full Control Over Its National Guard, Police as Trump Calls in D.C. National Guard and Federalizes D.C. Police |
WASHINGTON D.C. –– Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) and U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) announced that they will reintroduce their legislation to grant the District of Columbia full control over the D.C. National Guard and the Metropolitan Police Department when Congress reconvenes in September. These measures are needed more urgently than ever as President Donald Trump today assumed control of D.C.’s police department and announced plans to deploy the National Guard in the District. The Administration took these actions without consulting D.C. government officials and despite crime being at a 30-year low in 2024 and a decrease of 26% this year compared to the same time period last year. |
Norton Statement After President Trump Federalizes D.C. Police and Activates D.C. National Guard |
WASHINGTON, D.C. –– After President Trump announced that he is federalizing D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), for the first time in history, and activating the D.C. National Guard (DCNG) to address crime in the District, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) said that the decision is counterproductive, potentially dangerous, and an egregious assault on D.C. home rule. |
Norton Reintroduces Bill to Permanently Remove Confederate Statue of Albert Pike |
WASHINGTON, D.C. –– Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) reintroduced her bill to permanently remove the statue of Confederate General Albert Pike near Judiciary Square and authorize the Secretary of the Interior to donate it to a museum or a similar entity. Norton said that Pike, a Confederate general who served dishonorably and was forced to resign in disgrace, represents the worst of the Confederacy and has no claim to be memorialized in the nation's capital. Norton’s bill was passed by the House Committee on Natural Resources in the 116th Congress. |
Norton Statement After Trump Threatens to Federalize D.C. Police and Call in D.C. National Guard |
WASHINGTON, D.C. –– After President Trump suggested that Congress should repeal the D.C. Home Rule Act, threatened to federalize the D.C. Metropolitan Police and call in the D.C. National Guard to address crime, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) released a statement condemning the comments and defending the right of D.C. residents to govern themselves. |
Norton Introduces Bill to Make “Blue Envelope” Programs Eligible for Federal Transportation Safety Funding |
WASHINGTON, D.C. –– Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) introduced a bill to make “blue envelope” programs, which improve interactions between police officers and drivers with difficulty communicating through speech during traffic stops, eligible for federal transportation safety funding. The programs, which allow drivers to receive a blue envelope that explains the driver’s limitations on the front and hold documents that an officer might request during a traffic stop inside, exist in many parts of the country but currently aren’t eligible for federal transportation funding. The first blue envelope program, instituted by Connecticut in 2020, was designed to aid drivers on the autism spectrum. The American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) has endorsed the bill. |
After NPS Decision to Reinstall Confederate Statue of Albert Pike, Norton Announces She’ll Reintroduce Bill to Remove It |
WASHINGTON, D.C. –– After the National Park Service announced today that it will restore and reinstall the bronze statue of Confederate General Albert Pike on federal land near Judiciary Square, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) said she will reintroduce her bill to permanently remove the statue and authorize the Secretary of the Interior to donate it to a museum or a similar entity. Although the statue was taken down by a crowd during a demonstration in June of 2020, Norton’s bill was later passed by the House Committee on Natural Resources. |