00:00Last year, I first proposed to my husband the idea of allowing our preteen daughter to ride
00:04the metro in D.C. alone. She wants to take Irish dance classes in the city, and a weekly drive-in
00:09from the Maryland suburbs is too much for our family schedule. Then came story after story
00:14of stabbings, gang violence, and even a shooting on the metro, and my proposal went back on the
00:19shelf. We moved to the D.C. suburbs because of its proximity to the best our nation's capital
00:24has to offer. I frequently take our six kids into the city to explore the Smithsonian museums,
00:29attend performances at the community center, and soak in all the living civic lessons that are
00:33Washington, D.C. But in recent years, that promise has started to unravel. The metro stations that
00:38once filled us with civic pride now fill us with unease. City streets feel less predictable and
00:43less policed. And worst of all, none of it feels like an accident. Since the pandemic and the 2020
00:49protests, Washington, D.C. has been spiraling. Police were demoralized, prosecutions declined,
00:54and repeat offenders walk free. The result? Growing lawlessness and a population that no longer
01:00feels protected. Just this week, a former Doge employee risked his life to save a woman from
01:04being assaulted by a group of a dozen teens in the city. He was beaten so severely that he suffered
01:09a concussion, but he prevented what could have been a much worse and much more tragic outcome.
01:14Elon Musk shared the story on X and added his own conclusion. It's time to federalize D.C.
01:19And he's not the only one that feels that way. President Donald Trump posted a blistering
01:23statement on Truth Social, declaring that crime in Washington, D.C. is totally out of control.
01:28He pointed to youth gangs, violent assaults, and the lack of consequences for offenders.
01:33If D.C. doesn't get its act together, and quickly, Trump warned, we will have no choice but to take
01:38federal control of the city and put criminals on notice that they are not going to get away with it
01:42anymore. Critics will call this authoritarian, but for parents like me, people trying to raise
01:47independent, confident children in this area, the idea is simply a relief. And it isn't just about
01:52families and tourists, either. In May, a house staffer was the victim of an armed carjacking
01:57in Navy Yard. In July, a congressional intern, 20-year-old Eric Tarpon Jakaim, was killed in a
02:04drive-by shooting that also injured a 16-year-old boy and a woman. If we want the best and the brightest
02:10to visit our city and serve in government as staffers, civil servants, and interns, we need to
02:15offer them a capital that's safe to live in. Right now, we can't. If staffers, students, and commuters
02:20can't move through the city without fear, what exactly are we doing? I'd love to hand my daughter
02:25a flip phone and a smart trip card and give her a taste of independence, but I can't. Not while
02:29metro attacks are happening weekly, not while carjackings plague every neighborhood, and not
02:34while city leaders stand paralyzed, caught between ideology and inertia. Washington, D.C. should be a
02:40national showcase. But unless someone restores order, the city will continue its descent into
02:45fear and frustration. The message from parents, federal workers, and even tech billionaires is
02:50the same. Enough is enough. We want our kids to love this city, but more than that, we want them
02:55to be safe in it. And that shouldn't be too much to ask.
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