Anyone who has spent time in Washington understands why Union Station is the first stop on President Trump’s crusade to build big, beautiful things again.
What operated for 100 years as a monument to the greatness of American commerce, ingenuity, and connection has now become an embarrassing epicenter of our capital’s crime crisis.
The station had become dilapidated. Stores had been shuttered. Vagrancy was rampant. A lack of leadership had created an environment where tourists and rail passengers no longer feel safe. A central station that once represented a nation on the rise has eroded into a ruin built by a people past its prime.
Trump and I are now working to reverse this decline.
The Department of Transportation has owned Union Station since the 1980s. As of last week, my department is reclaiming station management after decades of bureaucratic inaction. It is past time to restore safety, revitalize economic activity, and deliver overdue repairs.
We will embrace a “one building” approach with the Union Station Redevelopment Corporation and Amtrak to beautify this historic landmark in the heart of our nation’s capital. That means immediate improvements to security, preparing the way for private investment, and working together to maximize the uses of the station and clear the existing backlog of projects.
The capital needs of Union Station — including improvements to elevators, lighting, and security, along with replacing the roof and other major systems — are estimated to cost $170 million. The previous administration planned to pay more than $10 billion over 13 years for a grand expansion without addressing the basic needs of the historic station, all the while reducing critical elements such as parking.
We are going to take immediate action to make Union Station beautiful and safe again, and we are going to do it at a fraction of that cost. The station already smells nicer and looks cleaner just days after we launched our effort.
Fixing Union Station is just one piece of the puzzle to make D.C. great again. Washington D.C.’s transit crime crisis remains deadly. As Transportation secretary, I find the state of our capital metro system to be unacceptable.
Trump was right to call for the nation’s capital to lead by example in public safety. Under his direction, National Guard members are now patrolling the system. But additional leadership must begin with Metro, making it a secure, zero-tolerance environment for violence — regardless of offenders’ age.
Before Trump rightfully deployed the National Guard and federal police, assaults on riders and employees were spiking. So far this year, Metro Transit Police have reported a 33 percent rise in arrests and citations.
I saw the lawlessness myself on a visit to the Metro station right outside my department’s headquarters when a patrol officer was stabbed in the face. Law-abiding citizens are being victimized — many by repeat juvenile offenders who know they face little more than a slap on the wrist. At least one bus driver is assaulted every single day in Washington.
Let’s stop sugarcoating the problem: The District’s juvenile justice system is broken, and this is putting Metro passengers and workers at risk.
Let’s review some recent cases. In March, a 19-year-old shot a stranger aboard a V2 Metro bus in Southeast D.C.—just hours after another shooting on the same route near 22nd and Minnesota Avenue.
In April, gunfire erupted outside the Petworth Metro Station, killing one teen and injuring another.
In June, a triple shooting near Mt. Vernon Square Metro claimed the life of a congressional intern and wounded two others.
Just last month, a 15-year-old was shot in the Navy Yard neighborhood, followed by yet another juvenile firing a stolen gun at teens just blocks away.
These incidents, alongside the statistics, suggest a war zone rather than a transit system. The Trump administration will not tolerate this anarchy any longer.
In the last few weeks, the National Guard and our federal law enforcement have been doing everything they can to restore the peace. So far, the District’s residents are seeing results.
Carjackings are down 83 percent. Robberies are down 52 percent. Violent crime across the board is down 40 percent. Illegal guns, drugs, and criminals are finally being taken off the streets. Even D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has said she “greatly appreciate[s] the surge” in law enforcement.
“We know that we have had fewer gun crimes, fewer homicides, and we have experienced an extreme reduction in carjackings,” the mayor said last week.
But D.C.’s incumbent government must do more. Why do local leaders insist on recycling violent offenders — many of them minors — back onto buses and trains to continue terrifying passengers? Although the Metro system’s recently adopted ban on violent offenders represents a step forward, District law often shields juveniles from meaningful penalties. This means that even those who commit serious crimes are released quickly, sometimes within hours, only to return to the same system they endangered.
What kind of message does that send to criminal predators? Easy — commit a crime this morning, be back on the train committing more crimes by dinnertime.
This isn’t just a D.C. problem. This is the nation’s capital. Metro is one of the busiest public transit systems in the country. Tourists ride it. Federal workers rely on it. Our nation runs on it. Union Station is at the center of it.
To protect riders and restore confidence, D.C. leaders must change their juvenile justice laws to ensure that violent crimes — including armed assaults, shootings, and sexual offenses — carry serious, enforceable penalties.
Metro’s ban should also be fortified so that repeat violent offenders, including juveniles, are permanently prohibited from using the system. We must also close loopholes that allow offenders with pending violent charges to return to transit before their cases are resolved.
At the same time, Metro security must be strengthened. An expanded transit police presence in high-risk stations and on late-night routes should focus enforcement against armed juveniles and known repeat offenders.
In addition, WMATA security feeds should be fully integrated with Washington’s Metropolitan Police Department and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, ensuring rapid identification, arrest, and prosecution.
We are going to transform Union Station from an epicenter of crime to a proud center of commerce.
Sean P. Duffy is the 20th secretary of Transportation and a former congressman from Wisconsin.
