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On Politics

Mon Aug 11 2025

Rebecca Morin | Newsletter Writer

@RebeccaMorin_

Hello! Rebecca Morin here. Lot's of news out Washington D.C. today, including President Donald Trump saying his administration is considering reclassifying marijuana as a less dangerous drug.

Trump's federal takeover of DC

President Donald Trump is deploying 800 National Guard troops to Washington D.C. as part of an aggressive federal effort to crack down on crime in the nation's capital. Trump said the federal government would take control of Washington's Metropolitan Police Department. Trump's actions follow a high-profile assault on a former staffer of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), 19-year-old Edward Coristine, that occurred in the early morning hours of Aug. 3. during an attempted carjacking. "We're taking our capital back," Trump said at a press conference in the White House press briefing room on Monday.

Crime rate is down: Washington's crime rate is down this year compared to 2024. Violent crimes are 26% lower than last year. Homicides are down 12%, according to statistics compiled by the Metropolitan Police Department. Follow the latest updates from Trump's announcement.

Trump targets homeless population: Trump on Sunday in a post on Truth Social also called on the homeless population in D.C. to "move out, IMMEDIATELY." The president has previously ordered a new tough approach to homelessness, declaring that organizations receiving federal funding must focus first on locking up people with drug or mental health challenges. Longtime social workers and experts say the new approach will likely worsen homelessness across the country.

Crackdown could extend to other cities: Trump on Monday said he will consider also deploying the National Guard to other major U.S. cities. He singled out cities like New York, Baltimore and Oakland, Calif., saying "they're so far gone." One of the two executive actions Trump signed Monday directed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to coordinate with governors and "authorize the orders of any additional members of the National Guard to active service, as he deems necessary and appropriate, to augment this mission."

•	See the increased federal law enforcement presence in Washington D.C.

Protesters gather near the White House as President Donald Trump announced he is placing the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department under direct federal control and deploying National Guard troops to Washington, D.C on Aug. 11.

Ken Cedeno, REUTERS

A politics pit stop

•	Australia to recognize Palestinian state at United Nations in September.
•	Trump nominates State Dept. spokesperson and former Fox commentator to UN role.
•	Zelenskyy rejects territorial concessions after Trump floats land swap.
•	Five world leaders are supporting Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize. Why?
•	Trump administration orders federal agencies to scrub worker COVID vaccine records.

Texas Democrats living on the run

For the more than 50 Democratic lawmakers who've fled Texas to thwart President Donald Trump's effort to protect his razor-thin Republican majority in Congress through redistricting, it's unclear when they will return back to the Lone Star State. Many left behind their families, which meant they would miss milestones like a child's first day of kindergarten or have to find long-term caretakers for family members, while juggling their full-time jobs along with the redistricting battle. USA TODAY spoke with more than a dozen Texas Democrats at the center of the national tug-of-war. While having to make compromises in their personal lives amid their self-exodus, the lawmakers also said they've become a stronger Democratic caucus. How Texas Democrats cope with the exodus.

•	Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sues to remove 13 Democrats over quorum-breaking walkout.
•	Texas Democrats fled the state to oppose GOP redistricting. Why this one stayed behind.
•	Bernie Sanders calls Texas redistricting push 'pathetic.'

Israeli airstrike kills Al Jazeera journalists in Gaza

A prominent Al Jazeera journalist, Anas Al Sharif, was killed along with four colleagues in an Israeli airstrike on Sunday. Al Sharif, 28, who had previously been threatened by Israel, was among a group of four Al Jazeera journalists and an assistant who died in a strike on a tent near Shifa Hospital in eastern Gaza City, Gaza officials and Al Jazeera said. An official at the hospital said two other people were also killed in the strike. A sixth journalist, Mohammad Al-Khaldi, a local freelance reporter, was also killed in the airstrike, medics at Al Shifa Hospital said on Monday. The attack has been condemned by journalists and press freedom groups.

Got a burning question, or comment, for On Politics? You can submit them here or send me an email at rdmorin@usatoday.com.