Joining me now. He is a National Guard colonel. He's been Emergency Management Officer for the National Capital Region, now Liaison officer for Defense Support of Civil Authorities. He's in the DC parking lot right now. He is Colonel Josh McConkey. First of all, welcome to the show.
Thank you very much, appreciate you having me on. I'm at the headquarters at Tindel Air Force Base. It's actually in Florida, not physically in DC.
My apologies. Thanks for clarifying that. Let's talk about what actually happened yesterday and what that means in practice. What did you hear yesterday?
So just addressing some of the crime issues. Having been in Washington, D C. For three years myself as a commander, I've had several colleagues attacked.
I had one of my colleagues had.
Their son who worked at the White House was assaulted last year, was beat very severely, had some permanent vision damage and some things. So, you know, crime is a very real deal there in Washington, D C. And this is just simply getting things under control to have a safe nation capital.
And you know, I love Washington, DC, and I always tell people I think every American wherever you are in the country, you should plan and take a vacation and go to Washington, d C. And see all the monuments and go to the museums and do all the history. But make sure you're back at your hotel by eight because it's not safe to be outside after that. That's
the reality, and it's not okay. And one of the things that I heard i listened to press conference this morning, this president wants our capital to be a shining, beautiful model city for the rest of the country. I really think that's his intention, But what does that mean in practice? What happens from this point forward.
So really, what you're going to see is you're just going to see men and women from their own community. That's why a lot of people join the National Guard is to serve your community. So they're going to be called in and they won't be doing police activities per se, because there's a Posse Commatatis Act that prevents that if you're on federal orders.
But they're going to be able to fulfill a lot of the roles that the Washington d C.
Police and firefighters and social workers. They're going to be able to do some of their jobs. That then freeze them up to address these issues in Washington d C. These are your friends and neighbors out in your community.
But what does this mean in terms of when people say this is the first step to authoritarian rule? What is the actual authority of the president here?
So the authority it was well established.
It was a congressional law passed in nineteen seventy three, so the.
DC Home Act. Washington d C. Is not a state.
It has always been a federal district of Columbia, and in nineteen seventy three they gave Washington d C. The ability to do some very limited self rule. But Congress has always retained that authority. Nothing has changed. They've had this authority since it was since it was Washington d C. And then even since nineteen seventy three they've they've kept that authority over them.
So how long does that authority last permanently? Is there a span of time I was under the impression I don't know where I got thirty days? But how long does that last?
Yeah, so the administration is announced thirty days. I think that's a very reasonable window of time to evaluate how things are progressing, and they'll reevaluate it after that thirty days and see what else needs to be done or if the mission is complete.
So what is this going to look like for your normal citizens who should be worried here?
I don't think anyone needs to be worried.
They need to be celebrating that the crime issues are being addressed. I know if I saw the things happening in my community where I live in North Carolina, I would very much want there to be some intervention and if you had that resource. Yeah, I have three children. I want a safe environment for my family. This isn't a political issue. This is about safety in our nation's capital.
Is there any concern that by bringing in FEDS you are either undermining local authority in a way that is not helpful on the long term or is there a hope that and this is what I'm hoping is that it works, and when it works, other large Democrat mayors will go, Wow, that actually worked and maybe try to replicate some of the same stuff. Do you think that there's any possibility or if there is a possibility, what would success look like in your world? You know, is
it for me? Is the crime rate below the national average? That would be a stunning success.
So you know, for me, just having crime lowered, especially the violent crimes, the muggings, the carjackings, the assaults. You know, that's what I've seen just personally with some colleagues that had been injured over the past year. So you know that can't happen in our nation's capital. That's the face of the country. That's where people, foreign indignitaries, people from all over the world go to visit, and needs to be a safe environment. So that's not really a political
issue success. There is just a safe community for you and your family. And these DC Guard members there are ready, they live there, this is their home.
So these are just your friends and neighbors.
So how long did he say how long they were going to be deployed? How long is this deployment? What does that look like?
It's planned right now at thirty days?
That's right now.
You're going to reevaluate after that.
Okay, that's where the thirty days came from. I was like, Mandy, how do you have thirty days in your head? Colonel Josh McConkie. I hope you're right. I mean, I hope that it goes as planned. What I find really really interesting is that once again President Trump is essentially forced democrats into a position where they seem to be on the side of criminals, and i'm I'm you know what, it's kind of interesting to watch that happen. I appreciate your time today very much, sir.
Yes, ma'am, thank you very much.
All right, that is Colonel Josh McConkey.