Category: Politics

(LONDON) — President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump on Tuesday head to the United Kingdom for a historic second state visit, where he will also meet with top U.K. officials to deepen ties with one of America’s closest allies.

The visit and invitation for the state visit are historic because Trump will become the first elected political leader in modern times to be hosted for two state visits by a British monarch.

During a background call on Monday with reporters, White House officials said that this visit will highlight what they called the deep ties between the United States and the United Kingdom.

“This historic second state visit is set to highlight and renew the special relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom. At the same time, the visit will recognize and celebrate the upcoming 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States,” a White House official told reporters during a background call previewing the trip.

Pomp and circumstance at Windsor Castle
The visit will have much of the same pomp and circumstance as Trump’s first state visit to the U.K., but there will be some notable differences. For one thing, the events will take place at Windsor Castle, while Trump’s previous visit was held at Buckingham Palace.

Another notable difference: the royals themselves. Trump’s previous visit was headed by then-monarch, Queen Elizabeth II. This time King Charles III will host the president, supported by the Prince and Princess of Wales — William and Catherine — who will play a major role as the red carpet is rolled out for Trump for the second time.

Back in February, in the Oval Office, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer hand-delivered an invitation from the king to Trump.

There will be gun salutes from Windsor and London, and for the first time a U.S. president will take a carriage ride through the grounds of Windsor Castle, and enjoy a joint flyover performed by the Red Arrows and U.S. F-35 military jets.

One notable royal will not be present at all during the visit. Prince Andrew will not participate. Andrew’s ties to the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein were major U.K. news.

The disgraced Duke of York’s lack of attendance comes as the Epstein files and his own relationship with the late financier have been a political headache for Trump. And just days before Trump’s visit, the U.K. sacked their ambassador to the U.S. over emails showing his close relationship with Epstein.

Deepening US-UK ties
In addition to the ceremony and regalia, Trump will take time for diplomacy. On the final day of his visit, Trump is set to meet with the Starmer. The leaders will hold a bilateral meeting at Chequers, the Prime Minister’s country estate outside of London.

Pressing global issues, including Russia and Ukraine, Russia’s threat to NATO’s Eastern flank and the war in Gaza will surely be a main topic for the leaders. Their visit comes after Starmer and other European leaders traveled to the White House to meet with Trump and Zelenskyy just after Trump’s summit in Alaska with Russian President Putin. But since that meeting, during which allies expressed optimism of a path forward on security guarantees, no progress has materialized.

The meeting also comes as Russia has shown staggering provocation by violating Polish airspace with drones. Poland then invoked NATO’s Article 4 and European nations are rattled by the overt action. But Trump has seemed to suggest that the drone incident may have been a mistake. Starmer will surely want to discuss the issue with Trump, a leader who has not always been keen on the U.S. upholding Article 5 of NATO’s treaty — calling for mutual defense when one member is attacked.

The leaders will also surely discuss their relationship, namely announcing deals to strengthen tech partnerships between the nations and a deal to vastly increase the U.K.’s investment in nuclear power with the US.

Starmer will also likely make the case more favorable trade terms with the U.S. While the U.K. has solidified a tariff deal with the U.S., negotiations remain for some things, including steel and pharmaceuticals.

The White House adds that Trump will meet with U.S. and U.K. business leaders, but White House officials declined to confirm ones.

Asked for a dollar amount for how much these investments could be, a White House official on the call could not give an exact figure but said that the White House was “looking at more than 10 million, perhaps tens of billions.”

The visit will also highlight mutual cooperation in civil nuclear power, research, investment and development. The U.S. and the U.K. are expected to sign new deals that will enhance the build-out of new nuclear power stations in both countries and clear the way for a significant expansion of new nuclear projects in the U.K.

​​The agreement will enable companies to build new nuclear power stations more quickly in both countries by reducing bureaucratic hurdles and delays, officials said.

Kelly also said there will be advances in defense technology cooperation and an examination of how both the U.S. and U.K.’s leading financial hubs can be sustained into the future.

Other top officials will be traveling alongside Trump in the U.S. delegation include Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, Ambassador Warren Stevens and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles.

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(WASHINGTON) — FBI Director Kash Patel is set to begin two days of questioning on Tuesday from congressional committees about his tenure leading the Federal Bureau of Investigation so far. He’s also sure to get questions about the assassination of conservative activist and influencer Charlie Kirk last week.

Patel will first be in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee in its oversight role of the agency before he faces its House counterpart on Wednesday.

Patel has been criticized for his handling of the Kirk investigation — sharing on social media at one point that a suspect was in custody but having to backtrack an hour and a half later — but Patel has stood by his performance, touting the fact that the FBI caught the Kirk’s suspected shooter in less than 36 hours.

Kirk was killed in Utah on Wednesday and the suspect, Tyler Robinson, was caught after his father turned him in to authorities on Friday. Patel contends this only happened because he ordered “against all law enforcement recommendations,” as he said on X on Saturday, the release of video and enhanced photos of the suspect.

“For comparative sake, the Boston bombing, the FBI didn’t release images for three days,” Patel told “Fox & Friends” on Monday morning. “I made an executive decision on an investigative and operational need, and it turned out to be the right move.”

He also addressed the criticism that he has faced for how he handled the investigation.

“I was telling the world what the FBI was doing as we were doing it. I continue to do it. I challenge anyone out there to find a director who has been more transparent and more willing to work the media with high profile cases or any cases that the FBI [is] handling.”

For his part, President Donald Trump is standing behind Patel, telling Fox News on Saturday that “I am very proud of the FBI. Kash — and everyone else — they have done a great job.”

Patel is also set to face questions on a host of other issues during his tenure at the FBI, including the firing of three senior agents who sued for reinstatement last week.

Brian Driscoll, who formerly served as the acting director of the FBI during the early days of Trump’s second term, Steven Jensen, former acting director of the FBI’s Washington field office, and former director in charge of the FBI’s Las Vegas field office Spencer Evans all joined in the lawsuit represented by Abbe Lowell, an attorney who has represented other high-profile figures ousted or otherwise targeted by the Trump administration.

The three former officials, whose careers collectively spanned over six decades of law enforcement experience across the ranks of the FBI, allege that the firings violated their due process rights as well as their First Amendment rights to free association and speech.

“Patel not only acted unlawfully but deliberately chose to prioritize politicizing the FBI over protecting the American people,” the lawsuit alleges. “As explained herein, his decision to do so degraded the country’s national security by firing three of the FBI’s most experienced operational leaders, each of them experts in preventing terrorism and reducing violent crime.”

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., a member of the Judiciary Committee, told ABC News that the lawsuit “contains pretty damning allegations that are now sworn to as part of a court proceeding.”

The director is also set to face questions about his so-called “enemies list,” a campaign promise to root out who he saw as bad actors in government, as well as his use of the FBI plane.

Whitehouse told ABC News that Patel “brings a genuinely political motive to the repeated instances of political decision making at the FBI.” He said it is “really, really, really, really ironic about the people who are supposedly so irate about weaponization is now doing weaponization at an unprecedented scale.”

He is also expected to face questions over the handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files.

The Trump administration has been dealing with blowback it received from MAGA supporters for its decision to not release more materials related to the investigation into Epstein, the wealthy financier and convicted sex offender who died by suicide in jail in 2019.

Epstein, whose private island estate was in the U.S. Virgin Islands, has long been rumored to have kept a “client list” of celebrities and politicians, which right-wing influencers have baselessly accused authorities of hiding.

Trump promised during the 2024 presidential campaign to release the files in their entirety and Patel before taking the FBI job had pushed unsubstantiated claims about who was in them.

The Justice Department and FBI announced in July that they had found no evidence that Epstein kept a client list after several top officials like Patel, before joining the administration, had themselves accused the government of shielding information regarding the case.

Last week, the House Oversight Committee released what it said was a note from Trump to Epstein on his birthday, which the White House and Trump deny was written by him.

On Sept. 2, the committee released more than 33,000 pages of Epstein-related records after it subpoenaed the Justice Department for them, but Democrats on the committee said that most of the files are already public.

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(WASHINGTON) — A new memoir from former West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, who clashed with former President Joe Biden over his legislative agenda, highlights the sharp disagreements the former moderate Democrat had with the Biden White House and his party — and describes Biden’s campaign to pressure Manchin to back his plans.

ABC News obtained excerpts of Manchin’s memoir, “Dead Center: In Defense of Common Sense,” before its release on Sep. 16.  

One of the swing votes in the evenly split Senate, the longtime senator from the coal-producing state opposed Biden’s $2 trillion-plus Build Back Better proposal, a sweeping domestic policy, tax and social safety net package that included climate and tax provisions that Manchin rejected.

Manchin said his rejection didn’t stop Biden from trying to use the bully pulpit to convince Manchin to change his position.

In a private White House meeting, Manchin said he told Biden “this isn’t your legislation. It’s Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren’s. I’ve known you for a long time, and I do not believe that you believe this is the right thing for the country.”

“He grabbed my arm,” Manchin wrote of Biden. “‘Joe,’ he said, ‘the country needs you.'”

“When the most powerful man in the world is putting the weight of the world on you, it causes you to pause. I took a deep breath and grabbed his arm. ‘Mr. President,’ I said, ‘the country needs you too,'” Manchin wrote. 

Manchin also criticized the Biden White House’s handling of negotiations with House and Senate Democrats over the infrastructure package, which at one point were held up in the House by progressives in what Manchin called “a misguided effort” to pass the larger domestic agenda.

“The political incompetence of his staff was staggering,” Manchin wrote about Biden’s trips to the Hill to meet with House Democrats. 

“[Biden] came from a working-class family. He built his career fighting for hardworking families, the very people who felt forgotten by Washington,” Manchin wrote. “But now he seemed beholden to the elite and far-left social agenda baked into [the Build Back Better Act]. This wasn’t the Joe Biden I knew — or maybe, as a senator from Delaware, he wasn’t able to show his true stripes before.”

Manchin said he felt that Biden “was losing touch with the very values that defined his career.”

Once Manchin revealed in a Fox News interview that he would not support the proposal, effectively killing it in the Senate, Manchin said he received a “hostile” voicemail from Biden, and that Biden was “irate” when he returned his message. 

Manchin said he told Biden he was frustrated with the White House’s outreach, and the fact that Biden singled out his opposition in a statement, telling Biden he believed it put his family “in harm’s way and disregarded my genuine attempt to work with you.”

Biden ended the conversation on a cool note, according to Manchin.

“‘We have a pissed off Irishman and a pissed off Italian, I think we should let things cool off.’ We didn’t talk for three months,” Manchin wrote.

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(WASHINGTON) — Vice President JD Vance hosted Charlie Kirk’s podcast on Monday, during which he said “left-wing extremism” is “part of the reason” Kirk was killed last week.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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(WASHINGTON) — While many states have at least partially banned cellphones in the classroom this back-to-school season, some are still leaving those decisions to their local education agencies, according to a new data analysis conducted by ABC News.

ABC News reached out to the education departments of every state, D.C., the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico by email this summer to discuss the policies.

Overall, 20 states (including D.C. and the Virgin Islands) have completely banned wireless communication devices — including personal phones or tablets — for the entire instructional day. There are, however, exceptions for students with disabilities who have individualized education programs.

In contrast, 17 states — such as Maryland and Wyoming — that have not banned the use of wireless communication devices in schools on the state level.

The remaining 16 states have chosen a more relaxed approach, with some recommending the individual school districts decide their own policies, and others, like Puerto Rico, only requiring a policy to be formed by 2026.

The Department of Education is on a quest to return all education responsibilities and decisions to the states. It leaves cellphone guidance to the local level.

Cellphone usage continues to be one of the most contentious issues for education leaders. Education experts told ABC News that electronic devices stifle engagement, disrupt learning by causing distractions, and create adverse mental-health issues in adolescents.

Thomas Toch, the director of FutureEd — an education policy center at Georgetown University, said he believes using cellphones in schools is generally problematic with the harm outweighing the good.

“It’s a problem,” Toch argued. “We’re trying to get kids to engage, to immerse themselves in the subject at hand, to communicate with their peers, to be part of a learning community,” he said.

“There’s lots of research to suggest that [phones] are very detrimental to students’ levels of concentration and undermine, for those reasons and others, their learning,” Toch added.

‘Even worse after COVID’

The modern smartphone debuted in 2007 — nearly 20 years ago — but school cellphone issues were exacerbated over the last few years, according to educators who spoke to ABC News.

When students returned to the classroom after the COVID-19 pandemic, they brought back their phones, according to Vermont’s Harwood Union Middle and High School Assistant Principal Jessica Deane. She said phones in school have been a problem since their invention, and emphasized that the problem has never been more prominent than since the pandemic.

“I’ve been asking students to put their phones away since 2005,” Deane told ABC News. “It seemed even worse, coming back after COVID.”

Teachers across the country, such as Julia Casey in Missouri, said the new ban has made her job more manageable because she doesn’t have to police students.

“I don’t have to, like, correct that behavior,” Casey said, adding that the ban has helped students “stay on task a lot more.”

‘Bell-to-bell’

The most strict cellphone measures include implementing a “bell-to-bell” school-day ban for this academic year. The bans are mandated in places such as Arkansas, Texas, Virginia and more.

The states require phones be stored separate and away from students.

Oregon Governor Tina Kotek signed an executive order banning phones in her state, too.

“This will help improve focus, mental health and safety — so every student can learn and thrive without distractions,” Kotek said in a recent post on X.

New York City Public Schools, the nation’s largest school district, also has a bell-to-bell policy in place for its nearly one million students, but the schools will be required to provide at least one method for families to reach their children during the school day in the case of an emergency.

In Kansas, the state board of education commissioned a task force — consisting of parents, educators and students — on student screen time, which found that its schools should limit cellphone use, with some school going with a bell-to-bell ban.

“We wanted the local school districts to have that control,” Kansas Commissioner of Education Randy Watson told ABC News. “What we have found is that most school districts in Kansas are implementing a bell-to-bell ban.”

Emergency situations

One of the top concerns for parents and families is their ability to contact their children in case of an emergency.

School safety is the No. 1 priority for educators, according to interviews with city leaders and education officials, especially with the influence of recent school shootings.

For communication purposes, phones can be valuable tools for students during the school day, according to Toch.

“There could be instances where kids don’t … have a way to communicate with family members — or don’t have an ability to communicate a problem that they see and that they might want to use their phone to alert others to,” Toch told ABC News.

Celebrating Washington, D.C.’s bell-to-bell policy, D.C. Schools Chancellor Lewis Ferebee argued that if there’s an emergency “the last thing we want students to do is to be on their cellphone.”

“We want them to be focused on the guidance and direction that they will be receiving from adults in the situation,” he said.

Kansas Commissioner Watson said any school incident is tragic, but he claimed there was “no evidence” to suggest having cellphones helps in the case of an emergency, according to his conversations with law enforcement.

In his state, Watson said districts are making their own choices and it’s paying off for the students.

“Kids are more engaged,” Watson explained.

“Kids are happier. There’s less bullying that takes place. There’s less distractions academically. That daily behavior goes on and on.”

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

 (NEW YORK) — Gov. Spencer Cox, R-Utah, said Sunday that the suspect in the shooting that killed conservative activist Charlie Kirk is not cooperating with authorities.

“He has not confessed to, to authorities. He is, he is, he is not cooperating, but, but, but all the people around him are cooperating. And I think that’s, that’s, that’s very important,” Cox told ABC News’ “This Week” co-anchor Martha Raddatz.

Authorities identified Kirk’s alleged shooter as 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, who now remains in custody. Charges are expected to be formally filed on Tuesday, Cox said.

Cox was also asked about a Sunday New York Times report that alleged Robinson had communicated with others on Discord after the shooting. The Times reported Robinson had made jokes about being the alleged gunman.

ABC News has not independently confirmed the Discord messages.

“All we can confirm is that those conversations definitely were happening, and they did not believe it was actually him. It was, it was all joking until, until he, you know, until he admitted that it actually was him,” he said.

The Utah governor, who has been the public face of the investigation, also addressed reports Saturday that the suspect’s roommate is transitioning from male to female.

Cox previously told the Wall Street Journal that Robinson was “deeply indoctrinated with leftist ideology.” Asked if investigators have uncovered evidence to show that, Cox replied, “Well, so far that — that has come from his acquaintance and his family members. That’s where that initial information has come from. Certainly, there will be much more information that is released in the charging documents as they’re bringing all of that together.”

Cox said there will be “much, much more information” revealed in the coming days when charges are filed. The governor urged Americans to choose kindness in a time of high political tension.

“These are very tragic circumstances that impact all of us,” Cox said.

Here are more highlights from Cox’s interview and those with Gov. Jared Polis, D-Colo., and Sen. John Curtis, R-Utah:

On Trump not talking about political violence against Democrats
Raddatz: President Trump said nothing about the political violence against Democrats. In fact, he blamed the radical left. What’s your reaction to that? Is that something you think he should be doing?

Cox: Well, look, President Trump is very angry and, Charlie is his close personal friend. There is a lot of anger, a lot of anger on the right, on my side of the aisle. And I’ve certainly felt that. And in this case, it does appear that that’s true. Again, more, more information is coming and we’ll learn more over time.

You know, I don’t know that that that matters as much as the the radicalization piece. I brought up the, the Democrats who were assassinated recently. And how quickly we move on from these things. But, but the body count is, is piling up. And so I’m so concerned about this radicalization piece. And that’s what we’re trying to understand. Again, this person made a choice, and it was this person’s choice. And this person will be held responsible.

Cox on how to get out of the ‘dark place’ the country is in
Cox: Right now, we’re in a dark place. Everybody gets that, I think, and we have choices and we in my political philosophy and my, and my religious philosophy, we believe in agency, that every one of us gets to make our own decisions … Every one of us has to make a decision. Are we going to hate our neighbor? Are we going to hate the other side? Are we going to return violence with violence? Or are we going to find a different path? Are we going to get out of those social media, those dark places of the internet where the conflict entrepreneurs reside, who are praying upon us, these, these companies with trillion dollar market caps who are using dopamine just like fentanyl, to addict us to their product and, and lead us again — those algorithms — lead us to more outrage. Can we put that aside? Can we go and serve our fellow human beings? Can we do some good in our neighborhood? Can we hug a family member? Can we talk to a neighbor that we disagree with? That’s, that’s up to us. And that’s the only way out of this. There is nothing else we can do to, to solve this, this dark chapter in our history.

Polis on the country’s political division
Raddatz: How did we get to these moments?

Polis: I think, as Governor Cox said, it really is an important reflection point. Violence in political theater, in our schools, on college campuses, is unacceptable. It’s fine, and we should even celebrate, having different opinions on things, right? Charlie Kirk’s catchphrase, “prove me wrong,” encouraging peaceful debate, discussion.

But it’s wrong to resort to violence and killing. And I think that’s a message we need to reemphasize in this age when sometimes there’s to many conflicting messages out there. We need to speak unequivocally, celebrate our differences. They should lead to discussion, not violence.

Curtis on the pervasiveness of political violence
Curtis: If it were up to me, I think you need to take the word “radical” and remove “right” or “left,” and radical coming from any direction is not good, it’s not healthy, and it should be called out. And that’s, that’s my mission, is to say, look, this to me, this is this is not right. This is not left. We’re talking about radicals, and that’s where we need to put our attention…

Raddatz: Senator, how do you think we got to this point in this country with so much political violence?

Curtis: You know, I was — you mentioned I live not far from the university. I was mayor of Provo, Utah, right next to it. I know you know where that is. That was just a decade ago, and it wasn’t like this.

And I think a number of things have come along. I don’t think COVID helped. I think — we have to look really hard. I mentioned social media before. I think we have to look really hard at what’s just occupying nearly 100% of brain weight of not just the youth, but of all generations, and what’s coming across, and actually what we’re allowing to come across, and there’s just zero liability for what people are putting out there. And I just think that’s if we’re going to fix this, we have to look really hard at that.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(STANFORD, Calif.) — Some college chapters of the Democratic and Republican parties are trying to turn down the temperature on discourse surrounding Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk’s assassination, as several groups across the country issued joint statements condemning the attack and calling for non-violence.

One of the first examples came from Rhode Island, where the Rhode Island Young Republicans and Rhode Island Young Democrats issued a rare joint statement on Wednesday evening.

“We may disagree on policy, but we are united in our belief in the value of life, civil discourse, and mutual respect,” said Ken Naylor, chairman of the Young Republicans. Anthony Cherry, vice president of the Young Democrats, added that young leaders must “make political nonviolence our pledge,” warning that “when our dialogue becomes toxic it has unimaginable consequences.”

In a phone interview, Naylor told ABC News that Kirk’s death “hit home with a lot of activists” who came of age watching his videos and campus debates. He said he immediately called up the leaders of the Democratic group and they agreed to put out a statement together.

“All of us believe that if you’re independent, Republican or Democrat there’s no reason for this to be happening. In this country we have the right to express ourselves and nobody should be silenced,” he said.

That message soon echoed across the country.

The Ohio College Republican Federation and College Democrats of Ohio released a joint statement on Thursday, rejecting “political violence in all its forms” and calling the killing “unacceptable,” writing that “violence undermines the very foundations of our republic” and urging students to “foster a culture where disagreement never escalates to harm.”

At The Ohio State University, the OSU College Democrats and OSU College Republicans issued their own joint statement on Wednesday, warning that political violence “erodes trust in our institutions” and “threatens the very foundations of civil discourse.” They said college campuses should remain “institutions of education and free speech” and affirmed their commitment to making OSU “a place where students feel safe to express their opinions, regardless of their political affiliation.”

The College Democrats at the University of Utah condemned the killing on Wednesday evening and offered condolences to Kirk’s family and to the students who witnessed it. Their statement said the tragedy “underscores the need to address the epidemic of gun violence in the U.S.” while also affirming the right of all Americans “to engage in civil dialogue without fear of violence.”

At Georgetown University, the Georgetown Bipartisan Coalition, Georgetown University College Democrats, and Georgetown University College Republicans Thursday said violent attacks “inject poison into the very heart of political dialogue” and urged Hoyas of all ideologies to “foster an environment of respect” and reject all forms of aggression. They emphasized that “the right to express one’s political beliefs without fear for one’s personal safety — particularly on college campuses — is fundamental to American life and a key component to a healthy, fully functioning democracy.”

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(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump said Friday that he will send National Guard troops to Memphis, Tennessee, as part of his push to combat crime.

The president said on “Fox & Friends” that he wanted to replicate the results of his deployment of the National Guard in Washington, D.C.

“Memphis is deeply troubled,” he said during the interview. “We’re going to fix that, just like we did in Washington.”

Trump said part of the crime crackdown could include federal forces, National Guard and even “the military, too,” if needed into Memphis.

“And anybody else we need,” Trump said of the forces he planned to send into Memphis.

Trump has said that local leaders across the country should ask for federal help and indicated that he has such backing from Tennessee officials.

“The mayor is happy. He’s a Democrat mayor, the mayor is happy. And the governor, Tennessee, the governor is happy,” he said.

Republican Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee’s office said in a statement on X that he would be speaking with Trump to “work out the details.”

“I’m grateful for the President’s unwavering support and commitment to providing every resource necessary to serve Memphians, and I look forward to working with local officials and law enforcement to continue delivering results,” he said in the post on Friday afternoon.

Memphis Mayor Paul Young confirmed at a news conference Friday afternoon that the National Guard will be sent to the city, but the Democrat added he didn’t ask for the National Guard.

Young added he needed more details on the Guard’s deployment from the governor and the federal government.

“When will they come? How many people are gonna come? How long will they be here? What are they going to wear?” Young asked.

The mayor cited the city’s drop in crime over the last year.

There have been 29,978 reported crime incidents in Memphis in 2025 as of Sept. 11, a roughly 44% drop from the same period in 2024 when there were 53,805 reported incidents, according to data from the city.

Homicides in the city dropped nearly 30% during the year with 182 reported incidents in 2025 so far compared to 261 during the same period last year, the data showed.

Trump’s comments on Friday come amid his push to crack down on crime nationwide — including his federal law enforcement surge in Washington, D.C.

However, before Trump began his deployment, the city had seen a two-year decline in crimes, according to police data. As of Friday, there have been 17,806 reported crime incidents in the city so far this year, compared to 19,501 during the same period last year — a nearly 8% drop, the data showed.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said Friday, in her first public news conference since the federal surge expired earlier this week, that the city will continue to partner with federal law enforcement.

“We have a long history of working with federal law enforcement, and we’re going to continue to partner in ways that make sense for D.C. safety,” Bowser said. “This also gives me the opportunity just to emphasize that we’ve always been about safe communities, safe streets and driving down crime.”

Washington, D.C., Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb filed a lawsuit last week that sought to end the D.C. Guard deployment arguing it was a “military occupation.”

Critics have noted that the president has focused his threats of federal deployments on cities that are led by Democratic mayors.

For the last few weeks, Trump has made threats that he was going to send National Guard troops to Chicago, citing its crime rate, and was met with vocal protests from Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Mayor Brandon Johnson.

“I want to help people, not hurt them,’ says the guy who just threatened an American city with the Department of War,” Pritzker wrote on X on Monday.

The president continued to argue that federal intervention was needed in Chicago.

“You’re about to lose Chicago,” Trump said Friday. “I can fix Chicago, much bigger than D.C., but we can bring in the military. We can bring in the National Guard. We’ll do what we have to do.”

ABC News’ Oren Oppenheim and Matt Foster contributed to this report.

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(WASHINGTON) — As voices across the political spectrum call to lower the temperature following the shooting death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk on Wednesday, many in the MAGA world are mourning his loss, with some enraged and escalating their rhetoric online.

Across social media, some of the most popular voices in the pro-Trump movement are calling for a crackdown on Democrats and for the Trump administration to take action in the aftermath of the killing.

In private, peers of Kirk say they are shocked and horrified by the shooting — with some MAGA influencers telling ABC News they may be hesitant to do public events in the future — but they are also equally angry and demanding consequences.

“This will be the real turning point,” one person told ABC News.

“The best way President Trump can reinforce Charlie’s legacy is by cracking down on the Left with the full force of the government,” said Laura Loomer in a post on X after Kirk’s death was announced.

“No mercy. Jail every single Leftist who makes a threat of political violence,” Loomer added.

In an earlier post, she wrote that “we must shut these lunatic leftists down. Once and for all. The Left is a national security threat.”

Meanwhile, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who has largely avoided politics in recent months, posted that “the Left is the party of murder” and added “if they won’t leave us in peace, then our choice is fight or die.”

Conservative activist Christopher Rufo called for a J. Edgar Hoover–style campaign to target the “radical left.” Hoover, as head of the FBI, led a sweeping, controversial crackdown amid the civil rights movement through surveillance and other means to target political groups.

“The last time the radical Left orchestrated a wave of violence and terror, J. Edgar Hoover shut it all down within a few years. It is time, within the confines of the law, to infiltrate, disrupt, arrest, and incarcerate all of those who are responsible for this chaos,” he wrote on X.

Pro-Trump influencer Joey Mannarino, who has over 600,000 followers on X, urged Trump to take an El Salvador–style approach — a reference to the country’s controversial campaign of mass arrests and suspended civil liberties, which drew accusations of authoritarianism and human rights abuses.

“Trump has to go full Bukele. Now. Fill the jails up with these terrorists,” Mannarino said.

Elsewhere, on Steve Bannon’s podcast, MAGA figure Jack Posobiec called for retribution.

“There’s never going to be another Charlie Kirk, but there’s never going to be another assassin to take out someone like the way they did because of what comes next will be swift, quick and it will be retribution,” Posobiec said.

One word in particular was echoed by leading voices in the MAGA movement: “War.”

Lone time Trump ally Bannon called Kirk’s death an assassination, remembering Kirk as a “warrior.”

“Charlie Kirk did not die,” Bannon said on his WarRoom show Wednesday, adding, “Charlie Kirk was assassinated today in Utah.”

In the conversation with Posobiec, Bannon said that his friend Kirk was a “casualty” whose life was taken in cold blood.

“Charlie Kirk is a casualty of the political war,” Bannon said. He also said, “We are at war in this country and you have to have steely resolve.”

Others echoed Bannon’s sentiment.

“THIS IS WAR,” the account Libs of TikTok posted on X after the shooting. The post has more than 78,000 likes.

Venture capitalist and Musk ally Shaun Maguire said in a post, “We’re not supposed to say this but the truth is we’re at War.”

And far-right radio host Alex Jones speaking in a video he posted on X declared, “we’re at war.”

Some prominent Republicans, however, called for an end to political violence on both sides of the political aisle.

Former President George Bush released a statement saying, “Violence and vitriol must be purged from the public square. Members of other political parties are not our enemies; they are our fellow citizens,” he wrote.

In the immediate aftermath of Kirk’s killing, House Speaker Mike Johnson said during an appearance on Fox News “We have got to turn the heat down a little bit. We got to have civil discourse.” “That’s what’s so important for us to remember,” Johnson said. “We shouldn’t regard one another as enemies. We’re fellow Americans, and we should have vigorous debate, but it cannot lead to political violence. It’s just too much.”

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise told CBS the day after the shooting, “we cannot let what happened yesterday be the norm.”

“Unfortunately, we’ve seen politics degrading where some people feel if they disagree with you politically, they’ve got to try to go and eliminate those people,” Scalise said. “That is not what America is. You know, we solve our differences at the ballot box.”

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(CHARLOTTE, N.C) — North Carolina Republicans are blaming Democrats’ “woke” policies and lenient crime enforcement for the fatal stabbing of 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska on a Charlotte, North Carolina, light-rail train. Meanwhile, former Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, is firing back, accusing Republicans of politicizing a tragedy.

Republican leaders in Charlotte held a joint news conference on Wednesday during which they condemned Democratic leaders’ “woke” policies and “ongoing failures” that they say contributed to Zarutska’s tragic death last month. Decarlos Brown Jr., 34, was arrested on Aug. 22 after police say he stabbed Zarutska three times while riding the Lynx Blue Line in Charlotte, according to an affidavit obtained by ABC News.

“Iryna Zaruska died because of the Democrat policies in Charlotte-Mecklenburg — woke politics that perpetuate cashless bail and refuse to prioritize public safety over appearances,” said Kyle Kirby, chairman of the Mecklenburg County Republican Party.

Chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party Jason Simmons claimed that “Democrats have chosen to side with criminals” — contributing to a “crime epidemic.” Simmons, without giving any specifics, listed Democrats’ “policies of appeasement” and their “weak on crime policies” as reasons leading to criminal activity in Charlotte and the country.

The 34-year-old suspect has a criminal record including larceny and breaking and entering charges. He also spent five years in prison for robbery with a dangerous weapon starting in 2015, according to the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction.

Democratic leaders have pushed back on the GOP’s portrayal of the killing as evidence of systemic Democratic failure.

Cooper, who is running for Senate in North Carolina in 2026, responded to Republicans’ attacks, appearing to accuse his opponent, former Republicans National Committee Chair Michael Whatley, of trying to score “political points.”

“The murder of Iryna Zarutska is a horrible tragedy and we must do everything we can to keep people safe,” he wrote in a Sept. 9 post on X.

“Only a cynical DC insider would think it’s acceptable to use her death for political points, especially one who supported cutting funding to law enforcement in NC,” Cooper said, appearing to reference Whatley.

Democratic Gov. Josh Stein said he is calling for more police enforcement to help prevent these kinds of crimes.

“We need more cops on the beat to keep people safe. That’s why my budget calls for more funding to hire more well-trained police officers,” Stein posted on X earlier this week.

“I call upon the legislature to pass my law enforcement recruitment and retention package to address vacancies in our state and local agencies so they can stop these horrific crimes and hold violent criminals accountable.”

Earlier this week, President Donald Trump weighed in on the stabbing, demanding Brown receive the death penalty.

Trump’s comments come amid his push to crack down on crime nationwide — including his federal law enforcement surge in Washington, D.C.

More than half of the overall public approves of Trump’s handling of crime, according to an AP-NORC poll conducted Aug. 21-25. However, there is a stark partisan divide between Republicans and Democrats, with 88% of Republicans approving of Trump’s handling of crime compared to 16% of Democrats.

With Brown’s impending court date set for later this month, Republicans are calling for the removal of Magistrate Judge Teresa Stokes, who lawmakers argue didn’t hold Brown accountable for his past alleged crimes.

North Carolina Rep. Tim Moore posted a letter written to Chief Judge Wiggins stating Stokes “authorized the release of Brown based solely on his ‘written promise’ to appear for a future court date.” The letter was signed by seven other North Carolina representatives.

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