President Donald Trump’s administration is taking control of Washington D.C.’s Union Station after three of his top officials were loudly heckled during a botched PR stunt at the transit hub.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced Wednesday that his department would reclaim management of the rail station as part of the administration’s sweeping efforts to tighten control over the capital.
The controversial federal takeover of D.C. has included deploying National Guard soldiers to patrol the streets, assisting police in tackling crime, and picking up trash.
“Instead of being a point of pride, Washington’s Union Station has fallen into disrepair,” Duffy said in a statement reported by The Washington Post. “By reclaiming station management, we will help make this city safe and beautiful at a fraction of the cost.”
The move came a week after Vice President JD Vance, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth were booed and jeered with chants of “Free D.C.” as they attempted a photo op with National Guard troops stationed at Union Station, complete with boxes of cheeseburgers.
The officials were also greeted with shouts of “f—ing Nazi” and “get the f— out of my city.” One heckler even called Vance a “couch f—er,” a reference to a baseless meme claiming the vice president wrote about having sex with a couch in his Hillbilly Elegy memoir, which became a meme during the 2024 election.
During the chaotic visit, Vance was asked by the press why troops were being stationed in the rail station instead of areas of the city with higher crime rates.
In response, Vance suggested Union Square, one of the country’s biggest rail hubs, was full of “vagrants, drug addicts, the chronically homeless and the mentally ill,” which makes visitors to the capital feel unsafe.
The Department of Transportation now plans upgrades to lighting, elevators, and the roof as part of its takeover.
The nonprofit Union Station Redevelopment Corp manages Union Station. The Trump administration’s plans for a full takeover of Union Station are expected to be completed in September, according to Reuters.
The White House and Department of Transportation have been contacted for comment by the Daily Beast.
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