STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
The president is aiming to expand the role of the National Guard in policing, using the Guard that is based in the District of Columbia. And he's also threatening to punish D.C. and other cities around the country if they abolish cash bail, which Washington has done. Let's talk about this with WAMU's senior D.C. politics reporter Alex Koma. Alex, good morning.
ALEX KOMA, BYLINE: Hey, good morning.
INSKEEP: Cashless bail is going to be a new concept to some people. So how does it work, and why is the president so focused on it?
KOMA: Yeah. Well, the basic idea is that, you know, if you're accused of a crime, you're being held in jail before trial, you don't have to post a money bond in order to get out. The decision is entirely in the hands of the courts or, you know, the judges to decide, you know, whether you're a risk to community if you be released. And D.C. hasn't had, you know, a cash bail system since 1992. The reform was sort of, you know, made because I think lawmakers recognized that it disproportionately impacted poor Black people stuck waiting in jail until their trial because they couldn't afford to pay.
INSKEEP: And the president objects to this why? It seems soft on crime?
KOMA: Yeah. I mean, his claim is that it lets murderers easily walk free, but that's extremely rare. I mean, just 4% of all people here in D.C. were released before trial were accused of violent crimes last year. So, you know, this is something that has not really had negative consequences. That being said, you know, local leaders are still on edge here because Trump has been meddling with the city's affairs a lot recently, including seizing control of the police department, sending in the National Guard and other federal agents.
INSKEEP: What more does he want to do now with the National Guard?
KOMA: Yes, so he says he wants to train a special unit of the Guard dedicated to public safety in D.C., and he can do that because he does have command of the Guard here. D.C. isn't a state, so there's no governor who'd be in charge of it. Trump also wants to send similar resources to the Guard in other cities to assist in responding to, quote-unquote, "civil unrest." But the Guard is, of course, limited by what it can do to patrol American cities. You know, troops can respond if they're attacked, but they don't have police powers or even really the training to assist police. So, you know, no one is really sure how this part is going to work.
INSKEEP: How much of this can the president replicate in other cities where he would have less direct authority than he might have in Washington, D.C.?
KOMA: Yeah, I think California points the way here. You know, he can claim some sort of emergency pretext, as he did in Los Angeles, and send in federal troops, but it'll ultimately run into guardrails. You have governors that have standing to sue, such as Gavin Newsom, who did, and, you know, then it can play out in the courts.
D.C., you don't have the same situation, and I think that shows why he's doing things here. The city lives in perpetual fear that, you know, he's going to team up with Congress to revoke what limited self-governance the government does have here, and that situation is going to remain unchanged, regardless of the president or party in power, unless the city is someday made a state. He has much less influence in other places, unless Congress happens to step in.
INSKEEP: Senior D.C. politics reporter Alex Koma of our member station WAMU, one of hundreds of NPR stations and communities across this country. Alex, thanks so much.
KOMA: It was so great to be here. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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