Trump administration to take control of Union Station

Earlier this week, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced that the Department of Transportation (DOT) would reclaim management of Union Station in Washington, DC. Duffy described the station—the second busiest in the country—as “fallen into disrepair.” DC Mayor Muriel Bowser added that Union Station needs an estimated $8 billion in repairs, which she stated is “more than the district can shoulder.” 

Normally, this news would likely fade from the headlines without much ado outside of Washington. After all, the DOT has technically owned Union Station since the early 1980s, though it has not exercised direct oversight of the area for some time. Amtrak and the nonprofit Union Station Redevelopment Corp. bore that responsibility in recent years. 

However, the Trump administration’s decision to invoke the Home Rule Act in order to federalize local law enforcement and essentially take jurisdiction over the nation’s capital has left many on heightened alert. As such, the decision regarding Union Station is seen through a much different lens than it would have been a few months ago. 

It’s understandable that people would make the connection, and they are not unjustified in doing so. Even if the legalities behind the two decisions are different, there are enough parallels to warrant watching both situations with a wary eye.

That said, there is also reason for hope in the DOT’s stated goals for taking back control of Union Station.

Is there a plan?

The Department of Transportation claims that it is not interested in running the station in perpetuity. Rather, it hopes to institute sufficient improvements to “unlock opportunities for private investment as part of a potential expansion of the station.” While it may retain a greater level of involvement than before, clear goals and an exit strategy are a welcome indication that the move is about more than a demonstration of power. 

Unfortunately, it remains to be seen if the same is true of their efforts to fight crime in Washington. 

While the Home Rule Act gives the government the right to use local police for federal purposes, they can only do so for thirty days. That period is set to end on September 10 unless Congress votes to give the administration an extension. 

President Trump has already indicated that he would seek more time, and Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona introduced legislation that would give federal forces an additional six months. However, the bill has less than two weeks to pass both the House and the Senate, which are on recess through Labor Day, and Congress is rarely known for acting with speed. 

As such, Trump may be forced to hand control back to the city sooner than he would like. Should that occur, it’s unclear if the recent progress will continue or revert to where the capital was a month ago. 

Will the impact last? 

Compared with the same period last year, violent crime in DC has fallen by almost 50 percent, burglaries by 48 percent, and car thefts by 36 percent. The increased police presence has clearly made a difference. 

Even Mayor Bowser credited the “federal surge” for the reduction in crime, citing “more accountability in the system, or at least perceived accountability in the system,” as the driving force behind the change. However, she was quick to add that the increased police presence—particularly in the form of more ICE agents—has created “a break in trust between police and community.”

Regardless of how much longer federal forces remain deployed in the city, the administration and Mayor Bowser’s office need to create a plan that does not rely on their presence. Unfortunately, identifying the need for a plan is far easier than devising a strategy that will actually work, and that is particularly true when it comes to crime.

Until federal forces pull back and allow local police to resume their role as the primary peacekeepers, it will be impossible to accurately gauge the effectiveness of Trump’s intervention. And the same is true for the move to help run Union Station as well. 

If he does not intend for federal forces to permanently claim jurisdiction—which would be illegal unless Congress gave them that authority—then the present times of peace must be used to lay the groundwork for something that can endure after the threat of a heightened police state is gone. To that end, Mayor Bowser reportedly hopes that recruiting 500 more police, as well as additional prosecutors and judges, will help make the reduction in crime permanent. 

However, you cannot legislate morality. The most the government can do is put its thumb on the scale to make crime less appealing, and that balance tends to reset as soon as the added pressure is removed. 

Why did God give us the Law?

For some, that might be an argument for making the harsher penalties and escalated police presence permanent. Yet that would set a rather dangerous precedent, and trading freedom for security rarely works out well in the end. 

Fortunately, as Christians, we serve a God whose grace is designed to help us move beyond the need for the law to constrain bad behavior. While government intervention will always be necessary this side of heaven, we should never see it as our greatest hope for change. 

As C. S. Lewis once remarked, “You cannot make men good by law; and without good men, you cannot have a good society.” 

The failure to accept this basic truth was one of the major impediments to the Pharisees embracing Jesus throughout his ministry. They thought the Law could make them good when all it was ever meant to do was make us aware of how much we need God. So when Jesus pointed out the inadequacy of their attempts to scare people into good behavior, they refused to listen.

Far too often, we make the same mistake today. 

Scripture is clear that punishing those who perpetrate evil is one of the government’s most important jobs (Romans 13:4). They are not above those laws—and we must be wary of any attempts to act as though they are—but wielding the sword is a key part of what God has established for them to do. That said, our job is to try and render that role irrelevant by sharing Christ’s call to salvation with everyone who needs to hear it. 

Laws may encourage people to sin less, but only Jesus can save us from the desire to sin. So fix your eyes on him and allow the Holy Spirit to make you into a new creation, one more concerned with loving God than with displeasing him. Then ask him to use you to help others do the same in our nation’s capital and beyond. 

Let’s start today.

Quote of the day:

“Our Lord told His disciples that love and obedience were organically united. The final test of love is obedience.” —A. W. Tozer

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