{"id":7185,"date":"2025-09-07T15:33:45","date_gmt":"2025-09-07T15:33:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/?p=7185"},"modified":"2025-09-07T15:33:45","modified_gmt":"2025-09-07T15:33:45","slug":"trumps-union-station-takeover-adds-to-evidence-of-dictatorial-grip","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/?p=7185","title":{"rendered":"Trump\u2019s Union Station Takeover Adds to Evidence of Dictatorial Grip"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Stacy M. Brown<\/a><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

With each new move, President Donald Trump continues to tighten his control over the nation\u2019s capital. This week, his administration announced it is seizing management of Union Station, Washington\u2019s landmark transportation hub.<\/p>\n

The action follows his unlawful federalization of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) and the deployment of armed National Guard troops across the city.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith these new Acela trainsets, Amtrak will provide more reliable service and lower prices for the American people \u2013 all while increasing the organization\u2019s profitability,\u201d said U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy in a Department of Transportation\u00a0 statement<\/a>. \u201cBut we\u2019re not stopping there. Instead of being a point of pride, Washington\u2019s Union Station has fallen into disrepair. By reclaiming station management, we will help make this city safe and beautiful at a fraction of the cost.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Department of Transportation claimed the takeover was necessary because Union Station had \u201cfallen into disrepair.\u201d Duffy insisted the government would do a \u201cbetter job\u201d running the property and pledged to make it \u201csafe and beautiful.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, many Washingtonians, activists and politicians alike note Trump is systematically stripping Washington of home rule.<\/p>\n

District Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton called the federalization of D.C.\u2019s police force unlawful, noting that crime in the city is at a 30-year low. She applauded D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb for suing to block Trump\u2019s control and introduced legislation with colleagues in Congress to restore the District\u2019s authority.<\/p>\n

Union Station is now patrolled by federal agents and National Guard troops with authorization to carry weapons. Officials in the administration describe the actions as part of a \u201cbeautification\u201d plan, but residents see the show of force as another step toward permanent federal occupation.<\/p>\n

Trump has pushed through illegal redistricting schemes in Texas and other states, weakening minority voting rights. He covered the Rose Garden with concrete, erasing its history, while ordering a $250 million refurbishment of the White House Ballroom designed for displays of grandeur rather than public service.<\/p>\n

While many Washingtonians, DMV commuters and travelers alike are concerned about the next phase of the law enforcement takeover in D.C., U.S. Deputy Secretary of Transportation Steve Bradbury noted the move is to further the president\u2019s beautification plans.<\/p>\n

\u201cPresident Trump and Secretary Duffy are doing what they do best: making big, beautiful projects come to life. The launch of the new Acela is a critical starting point as we work to improve travel for millions of Americans,\u201d Bradbury said in a statement<\/a>. \u201cI look forward to working closely with our team at Amtrak and the Union Station Redevelopment Corporation to focus our attention on Union Station and make it a world-class transit hub. Our nation\u2019s capital should be putting our best foot forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

Source: Published without changes from Washington Informer Newspaper<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Stacy M. Brown With each new move, President Donald Trump continues to tighten his control over the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":7186,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[255,24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7185","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-america-under-attack","category-regular-column"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7185","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7185"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7185\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7187,"href":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7185\/revisions\/7187"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7186"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7185"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7185"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7185"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}