Hearings to examine how the Trump Administration is addressing the human cost of soft on crime policies.

Committee on the Judiciary

2025-09-30

Source: Congress.gov

Summary

The meeting addresses the human costs associated with "soft on crime" policies and examines the Trump administration's strategies to reduce violent crime. The discussion is marked by sharp partisan divides regarding the effectiveness of various crime-fighting approaches and the appropriate role of federal intervention.

Effectiveness of Trump Administration's Crime-Fighting Strategies

Proponents of the Trump administration's approach highlighted significant reductions in crime rates in Washington D.C., attributing these successes to federal intervention involving federal agents and the National Guard[ 01:33:07-01:33:09 ]

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. They asserted that these interventions demonstrated the positive impact of a "tough on crime" stance against what they termed "soft on crime" policies. Conversely, critics, primarily Democrats, questioned the validity of these crime statistics, suggesting they were manipulated or that crime was already on a downward trend. They argued that the focus on "blue city chaos" was a political tactic to disparage Democratic-led areas, despite data indicating higher murder rates in many Republican-led states or cities.

The Impact of "Soft on Crime" Policies and Progressive Prosecutors

A central theme was the alleged negative impact of "soft on crime" policies, such as cashless bail, lenient sentencing for violent offenses, and the actions of "progressive" prosecutors[ 01:05:00 ]

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. Several speakers, particularly Republicans and law enforcement witnesses, contended that these policies led to increased crime, reduced police morale, and a cycle of re-offending criminals. They pointed to specific examples like the D.C. Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Act and the Shelby County District Attorney in Memphis as instances where such policies were detrimental[ 01:05:00 ]

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. Democrats countered that this narrative was overly simplistic and politically motivated, emphasizing that effective crime reduction requires a broader focus beyond punitive measures[ 01:43:58 ]

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Role and Criticisms of National Guard and Federal Law Enforcement Deployment

The deployment of the National Guard and federal agents to cities like D.C. was a highly contentious topic. Major General Enyart, a former commander of the Illinois National Guard, argued that military forces are not trained for domestic policing and that such deployments are illegal, unconstitutional, and detrimental to military readiness and morale. Democrats echoed these concerns, viewing the interventions as politically motivated "power grabs" that divert resources from critical national defense missions. In contrast, Republican speakers and some witnesses, like Mrs. Cook and Detective Pemberton, welcomed the federal presence, asserting it made communities safer and provided much-needed support where local leadership had failed.

Approaches to Violence Prevention and Law Enforcement Funding

The debate extended to different philosophies on violence prevention. Witnesses like Mr. Jackson advocated for comprehensive public health approaches, including community-led violence intervention programs and mental health services, citing their proven effectiveness in reducing crime and highlighting significant cuts to these programs by the Trump administration. However, Detective Pemberton dismissed "violence interrupters" as ineffective and a waste of taxpayer money in D.C., citing instances of corruption and lack of results. Many speakers across the aisle, including Senator Klobuchar and Detective Pemberton, emphasized the critical need for adequate funding, staffing, and equipment for local police departments to effectively combat crime and improve officer morale and retention[ 01:51:30 ]

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Tone of the Meeting

The tone of the meeting was highly partisan and confrontational, with frequent accusations of political posturing and misrepresentation of facts[ 01:43:58 ]

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. Several speakers expressed frustration over the politicization of crime issues, arguing it hindered bipartisan efforts to find solutions. While personal testimonies from crime victims introduced a somber and emotional element, many exchanges remained contentious, particularly regarding policy effectiveness and funding decisions[ 02:20:27 ]

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Participants

Transcript

Thank you.
Good morning, everybody.
Today's hearing is meant to examine the human cost of our soft on crime policies, and particularly to highlight the Trump administration's effort to reduce violent crime.  It's been over a month since Trump administration   took swift action to stop crime in our nation's capital.  Those efforts resulted in a 53% reduction in murders, a 57% reduction in robberies, and a 75% reduction in carjackings.  Now my Democrat colleagues would surely welcome these reductions.
but from some of their language, you wonder whether they do.
There ought to be a breath of sigh relief from them that more families were spared the cost of crime, which are so often paid in lives lost, laughter silenced, and families left irreparably broken.  Instead,   They've spun an Orwellian tale defaming their political opponents as quote-unquote authoritarians, engaged in quote-unquote abuses of government and military power to target and punish dissent.  That's the end of that quote.  This self-serving narrative doesn't make America safer.
It harms victims.
who plead for secure communities and the law enforcement officers targeted by radicals.  Need I remind these self-declared defenders of the rule of law, of the very laws that were abandoned for open borders years ago,   Those foolish policies paroled over 6,000 people either on the FBI's terrorist screening center watch list or with criminal records into the United States.  And the same four years lost track of over two million known gotaways.  The act of quote, upholding the rule of law, end of quote,   is not a political exercise for an election season.  It's the duty of government all over to protect and serve extended, to protect and serve extends only to political allies of some of these Democrat leaders.   Just this month, the Department of Homeland Security reported that police under Governor Pritzker's sanctuary jurisdiction refused to answer multiple calls for assistance when violent rioters physically assaulted federal immigration officers.  Those unlawfully present in the United States may potentially be subject to both criminal prosecution and immigration removal proceedings.   And Operation Midway Blitz in Chicago resulted in the arrest of illegal migrants convicted of assault, domestic violence, and murder.
And those are just the criminal records the United States can access.  I'd like to remind my colleagues that foreign criminal records often are not accessible, particularly from countries like Venezuela.   We titled this hearing, quote, Blue City Chaos and Tragedy, end quote, because 18 of the top 20 most crime-ridden cities are controlled by Democrats preaching and implementing soft on crime policies.  In fact, in 2022, the Heritage Foundation released a report finding a supermajority of high-crime cities in red states are, quote,   deep blue, and ran by left-wing ideologues."  Those ideologues abused federal grant money to push anti-victim policies in local prosecutors' offices and thwart immigration law.  In June, I released a report outlining how the Soros-backed Vera Institute of Justice used federal funds to embed   in progressive prosecutor offices.  Those prosecutors declined to charge a repeat sexual predator, released violent criminals back into the community to reoffend, and investigated their political opponents.   In Congress, good faith efforts by some Republicans to work collaborative on gun solutions through the Bipartisan Safers Community Act quickly turned to political opportunism.  Democrats abandoned their promise to adhere strictly to legislative text and authorized warrantless searches of any lawful gun owner who dared to transact a single gun sale from their home.
Many suffered under Biden's administration's tortured reading of the law and executive overreach, but none more so than victims who lost their loved ones in violent crime.  Many of those individuals welcome President Trump's effort to make their communities safer.  To the National Guard and law enforcement officers working to make America safer,   I think all of my colleagues would join me in saying thank you for your service.  The left-leaning media has alleged the National Guard is bored.  If anything, I think that's a sign of their presence is deterring violence.  Before I turn to Ranking Member Durbin, I'm going to take a minute for a video that shows the human cost of self-on-crime policies.
So please listen for one minute.
The juveniles have run the city, not just the city, but cities across the country, whether it's Memphis, Philadelphia, Chicago, or this Baltimore.  And the fact of the matter is you can get up every morning in this city and you can say somebody's going to get murdered.
A man who was believed to be in his 40s who was just an innocent person driving on Ohio Street when one of the suspects from this burglary here outside of the Louis Vuitton store was driving southbound on Michigan Avenue   crashed into that man, he died as a result of that crash.
It is unconscionable that you can look the other way and allow this to happen every single day.
Crime is still a big problem in the Twin Cities.  Each incident brings with it lasting fear and pain to those victimized.

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