Make the District of Columbia Safe and Beautiful Act of 2026

What is this bill?

• HR 5103, sponsored by John McGuire (R-VA-5)

This bill would serve three purposes:

• establish a program for beautification programs across Washington, DC and also restore ‘public monuments, statues, markers, and similar properties that have been damaged or defaced or inappropriately removed or changed.’

• establish a DC Safe and Beautiful Commission comprised of representatives from:

  • the Department of the Interior

  • the Department of Transportation

  • the Department of Homeland Security

  • the FBI

  • the US Marshals

  • the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF)

  • the US Attorney’s Office for DC

  • the US Attorney’s Office for Maryland

  • the US Attorney’s Office for Eastern Virginia

  • any other entities in the federal government that the Chair of the Commission wants to add (the Chair is selected by the President)

• grant the commission the power to recommend actions and review the effectiveness of actions for:

  • enforcing Federal immigration law in DC

  • monitoring DC’s compliance with Federal immigration law

  • facilitating accreditation of DC’s forensic crime library

  • ensuring the Metropolitan Police Department is provided with assistance for recruitment, retention, and reducing crime

  • working with local government to assist in increasing the speed and lowering the cost of concealed carry licenses

  • reviewing and recommending revisions to Federal policies on pretrial detention

  • working with local government to assist ending fare evasion and other public transit crime

  • “facilitating the deployment of a more robust Federal-law enforcement presence”

What makes this bill fascist?

Wild for this to start out as a boring old bill to clean up DC prior to this summer’s 250th Anniversary of the United States celebration, take a hard right into returning ‘inappropriately’ removed statues, and then take an even harder right turn into another attempt to dismantle DC’s sanctuary city status.

As the bill is written, most of the power seems to be in establish the beautification program and returning statues that had previously honored the sorts of people this fascist government idolizes. The DC Safe and Beautiful Commission does not seem to hold much power to do anything more than recommend ideas and evaluate actions, but seeing as its first directive is to encourage policies that would revoke DC sanctuary city status, that alone makes it a fascist body.

What Dems voted for it?

Based on past votes, there are at least 10-20 Dems that both have voted for anti-immigration as well as anti-DC bills. I feel like that is the baseline to expect. The vote will happen by Friday at the latest.