SCOOP: "Enough is enough": Republican Study Committee members roll out agenda to back Trump's crackdown on D.C. crime

Hours after Congress reconvened, members of the conservative Republican Study Committee (RSC) gathered at the House triangle to reinforce the White House’s messaging that crime in D.C. was out of control, and that President Donald Trump was right to step in.

The RSC’s Rep. Harriet Hageman (R., Wyo.) led the way, because she helms the group’s Article One Task Force. Hageman and her colleagues, Reps. August Pfluger (R., Texas), Ron Estes (R., Kansas), and Brad Knott (R., N.C.), explained in response to a question from the Washington Reporter why the administration’s moves were necessary.

“We all recognize that if you have a police presence and if you actually prosecute criminals, you’re going to have less crime,” Hageman said. “You’re going to have less people willing to take the risk of either throwing a projectile at a member of Congress or carjack or engage in other nefarious behavior. What we’re talking about is nothing earth shattering, this is common sense…common sense is back in vogue.”

Hageman added that her constituents back home support the administration, both in making D.C. safer and across the board more broadly. “I know the people of Wyoming, across the board, not just on the issue of protecting the citizens of Washington, D.C., but across the board, we’re seeing so many issues resolved and addressed by the current president, that people are like ‘why did we wait so long? Why has it taken us this long to actually address the challenges that we have in this country?’ He’s exposed that our political betters aren’t always the brightest lights on the porch.”

Pfluger, the chair of the RSC, added that “recently, the Governor of Califpornia said that he is going to establish a task force on crime. Well, we’ve got news for him: there’s a task force for crime, it’s called laws, it’s called prosecutors, it’s called DAs, it’s called accountability.”

“The Republican Study Committee,” Pfluger explained, “has long been the champion of conservative, and one of the most, if not the, most important conservative value, that we stand for, is law and order…it’s really sad to see a lot of these cities across the country, to see what the radical leftists are standing for…there are many Democrats that we serve with, we need them to stand up…In Texas, I can tell you that my constituents are thrilled to know that Washington, D.C. is back on the mend again.”

For Estes, this issue strikes particularly close to home. One of his interns, Eric Tarpinian-Jachym, was murdered this summer in D.C. in an attack that the congressman said is still not solved.

“When I was back in Wichita during District Work Period, I was speaking to a group and one of the women in the group told me that she was going to be up in Washington, D.C. in a couple of weeks, and she wanted to know if they were still going to see crime on the streets, the homeless around, and I reassured her that the president has put National Guard troops around to patrol the streets and make sure the streets are safe,” he said.

Knott, a former federal prosecutor, added that “it’s not just the National Guard that is going to cities…Federal law enforcement are initiating the arrests…He is rightfully sending federal law enforcement to address federal crimes.”

The event’s tenor was set early on by Rep. William Timmons (R., S.C.), who simply declared that “enough is enough” when it comes to crime in the Capitol.

A handful of liberal protesters attempted to disrupt the event, but failed to do so. Following the event, they briefly shouted “shame” at the lawmakers before petering out in under two minutes.

Rep. Randy Fine (R., Fla.), who was in attendance, was quick to criticize the “Democrat Party-funded protesters” to the Reporter.

“I’m proud of the work the RSC is doing to support President Trump while he makes our nation’s capital safer,” Fine said. “The press conference had a great turnout, but we really knew we were doing something right when Democrat Party-funded protestors showed up yesterday to wail while we clean up Washington.”

“It’s ironic that liberals whine about an ‘invasion’ in D.C. when they spent four years importing terrorists, rapists, traffickers, and murderers who treat our cities like their personal playgrounds,” Fine added. “It’s great to be part of the Republican team fighting back.”