OPINION:
President Trump wants tourists and residents to walk the streets of the nation’s capital with confidence that they won’t be knifed in the back or shoved in front of a Metro train. The president is delivering on the promise he made during the campaign.
“We will take over our horribly run Washington, D.C., and clean up, renovate and rebuild our capital so that it is no longer a nightmare of murder and crime,” he said during a rally last year.
On Inauguration Day, Mr. Trump had Ed Martin sworn in as interim U.S. attorney for the District, knowing he needed to take swift action to address the previous administration’s neglect. During the four years of Joseph R. Biden’s presidency, D.C. prosecutors cared about only one thing: prosecuting 1,583 conservatives who protested at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Looters, carjackers and burglars were largely ignored, and they went on a rampage. In the unlikely event that these scoundrels wound up in custody, they could rely on U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves to let them go with a sweetheart plea deal. Stiff penalties were reserved for the left’s ideological opponents.
The predictable result was that the number of homicides hit 274 in 2023, more than double the tally a decade earlier. In a bid to reverse the appalling trend, Mr. Trump signed an executive order targeting low-level crimes under the theory that hooligans who get away with minor offenses soon graduate into serious and violent misdeeds.
Thus, the order directs prosecutors to crack down on graffiti, public intoxication, drug possession, shoplifting and “unpermitted disturbances.” Mr. Martin cited the order as he celebrated Tuesday’s conviction of one of the “Declare Emergency” climate hysterics who threw red and black paint on the case holding “Little Dancer, Age Fourteen,” the sculpture by Edgar Degas at the National Gallery.
“We want to Make D.C. Safe and Beautiful, and we will not tolerate anyone defacing our city to get attention for their cause,” Mr. Martin wrote on X.
Serial felons are also feeling the heat. In the past few days, several were charged with unlawful pistol possession along with additional counts, including drug dealing, robbery and assault. In each instance, the feds sought the toughest applicable penalties — a refreshing change. The number of cases filed last month was double that on Mr. Biden’s watch.
When it came to enforcing gun laws, Mr. Biden’s team threw the book only at law-abiding citizens who unknowingly ran afoul of the city’s overly strict and, in many instances, unconstitutional Second Amendment restrictions.
Mr. Trump’s executive order addresses that issue by directing a task force to help law-abiding residents defend themselves. The task force’s mission includes “collaborating with appropriate local government entities to provide assistance to increase the speed and lower the cost of processing concealed carry license requests.”
To keep his job as U.S. attorney, Mr. Martin needs Senate confirmation, but he faces opposition. Reversing the stance of his office from “defund the police” to “defend the police” doesn’t go over well among leftists.
Sen. Adam B. Schiff, the California Democrat censured for bringing “disrepute upon the House of Representatives,” put a hold on the confirmation vote. He is likely worried about what Mr. Martin might find while investigating those responsible for jailing Jan. 6 protesters using bogus legal theories rejected by the Supreme Court.
Senators should judge Mr. Martin’s service by the results he has achieved quickly. He deserves swift approval.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.