The Trump administration is preparing to take control of Washington’s Union Station, shifting authority from Amtrak and local stakeholders to the federal government in a sweeping move driven by mounting public safety concerns in the nation’s capital, according to the White House.
The Department of Transportation, led by Secretary Sean Duffy, is negotiating a federal takeover from Amtrak and the Union Station Redevelopment Corporation.
Duffy said the once-grand station has fallen into disrepair and should reflect national pride — not urban decay. He framed the move as part of a broader $2 billion federal effort to clean up and secure Washington, D.C., restoring order to public spaces that have spiraled under lax local oversight.
Formal confirmation of the transfer is expected next month.
NBC News continues:
“Instead of being a point of pride, Washington’s Union Station has fallen into disrepair,” Duffy said in a statement. “By reclaiming station management, we will help make this city safe and beautiful at a fraction of the cost.”
The Transportation Department said in Wednesday’s news release that the efforts were part of a broader initiative, echoing the President Donald Trump’s March executive order laying out efforts to fight crime and promote “beautification” in the capital.
The planned takeover comes as the White House has enacted sweeping efforts to reshape the law enforcement presence in the district by surging in federal agents and the National Guard, a move that has drawn mixed reactions from residents, with many expressing anger and others voicing support.
During a newss event ahead of the launch of a new high-speed train, Duffy said the Department aimed to make “investments to make sure that this station isn’t dirty, that we don’t have homelessness in Union Station. We want a place where businesses want to obtain leases.”
The timing is no coincidence.
It follows several headline-making federal moves: Amtrak’s CEO was just replaced, tariffs have been raised on foreign railcars, and the federal government recently took charge of the renovation at New York’s Penn Station.
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