Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced Wednesday that his department is taking management of Union Station, the main transportation hub in Washington, away from Amtrak, in another example of how the federal government is exerting its power over the nation’s capital.
The secretary said Union Station, located within walking distance of the U.S. Capitol, had “fallen into disrepair” when it should be a “point of pride” for the city.
President Donald Trump said last week he wants $2 billion from Congress to beautify Washington as part of his crackdown on the city. The Republican president has sent thousands of National Guard troops and federal law enforcement officials into Washington in a bid to fight violent crime he claimed had strangled the city.
Other news we’re following:
Trump connections accused of Greenland influence operation: Denmark’s main national broadcaster reported Wednesday that at least three people with connections to the president have been carrying out covert influence operations in Greenland, prompting the country’s foreign minister to summon Denmark’s top U.S. diplomat for talks.Kilmar Abrego Garcia seeks asylum: The Salvadoran national who has become the face of Trump’s hardline immigration agenda wants to seek asylum in the United States, his lawyers told a federal judge Wednesday. Trump administration officials want him deported to Uganda, saying he’s part of the dangerous MS-13 gang, an allegation Abrego Garcia denies. New poll shows Trump’s approval is up: As armed National Guard troops continue to patrol the nation’s capital as part of an unprecedented federal takeover of the city’s police department, handling crime is now a relative strength for Trump, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.