President Donald Trump’s proposal to federalize Washington, D.C., over rampant crime has been labeled authoritarian, but the federal government asserted control over the district decades ago to considerable success.
When D.C. was in a state of crisis in the 1990s, Congress passed two laws that federalized parts of D.C.’s criminal justice system and created the independent office of the chief financial officer (CFO). Violent crime proceeded to decline locally for the next several years, and the first mayor-appointed CFO, Anthony Williams, balanced D.C’s cratering budget. Williams later won two terms as Democratic mayor of D.C. in a political career credited with dramatically improving quality of life in the nation’s capital, according to The Washington Post.
[Source](https://www.bizpacreview.com/2025/08/07/congress-took-over-dc-in-the-90s-and-it-worked-1574511/)
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President Donald Trump’s proposal to federalize Washington, D.C., over rampant crime has been labeled authoritarian, but the federal government asserted control over the district decades ago to considerable success.
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When D.C. was in a state of crisis in the 1990s, Congress passed two laws that federalized parts of D.C.’s criminal justice system and created the independent office of the chief financial officer (CFO). Violent crime proceeded to decline locally for the next several years, and the first mayor-appointed CFO, Anthony Williams, balanced D.C’s cratering budget. Williams later won two terms as Democratic mayor of D.C. in a political career credited with dramatically improving quality of life in the nation’s capital, according to The Washington Post.
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