George Derek Musgrove:
What it keeps for Congress is oversight of the city’s passage of laws, oversight of the city’s budget. The president already had control of the National Guard. The Home Rule Act maintains that. The president, of course, appoints the U.S. attorney, who is a chief law enforcement officer in the District.
And then, of course, the president is capable, as he did the other day, to declare an emergency that threatens the federal interest and then take over the Metropolitan Police Department for a period of up to 30 days. And so the president has — really has the lion’s share of the law enforcement powers in the District.
