Rep. Julie Fedorchak, R-N.D., said she was attacked in broad daylight in D.C.’s Navy Yard neighborhood, which is located just a few minutes’ drive from the Capitol, in July. (Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images and Rep. Julie Fedorchak official website)
"In fact, I felt this myself recently in a small way," she continued. "I was walking down the street in July and near my apartment in Navy Yard, not very far from home, and I felt something hard hit me in the in the back of my head. It was broad daylight. I was very startled. I was on the phone at the time, and just as that happened, a pack of juveniles came rushing by on their bikes and I turned to look around and see what had happened. And a large, hard plastic object had been thrown directly at my head."
"Now that was a small, minor incident. I wasn't harmed, but the young people who did it, did it with reckless abandon and with zero fear of consequences," she said. "They gathered in a circle not far from me after that and sat there and laughed."
Fedorchak said this assault is just another example of "how crime is out of control in this city, and there aren't any consequences."
In August, President Donald Trump invoked Section 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act to place the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) under federal control in response to rampant violent crime in the city. One of the reasons cited by the president was the epidemic of violent youth gangs terrorizing residents in the streets of D.C. In early August, a former DOGE staffer named Edward Coristine was violently assaulted by a group of D.C. youths and left bloodied in the street. Trump called the perpetrators "thugs" and vowed to exert his powers to federalize D.C.
TRUMP PRAISES DEMOCRATIC DC MAYOR FOR WORKING WITH HIS ADMINISTRATION ON CRIME CRACKDOWN
National Guard members stood among protesters at Union Station in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 1, 2025. (Emma Woodhead/Fox News Digital)
"Yesterday, I was able to walk around the Navy Yard with my daughter, and it was great to see the National Guard out there patrolling around," he said. "It was a safe environment for people to hang out. It was nice. There was a family there having a birthday party for one of their children."
During the press conference, Rep. Harriet Hageman, R-Wyo., announced that Congress would be asserting greater control over D.C. to ensure the city remains safe for residents and visitors.
"In 1973, Congress granted D.C. limited home rule authority through the District of Columbia Self-Government Reorganization Act, also called the Home Rule Act. In the Home Rule Act, Congress reserves the right at any time to exercise its constitutional authority as the legislature for the district, which includes the right to review and block local legislation before it takes effect. It has now become necessary for Congress to exercise such authority," she said.
"Why? Because the D.C. city council is seeking to exercise its authority not for the best interests of its citizens or the broader community, but for political purposes," she continued. "For years now, the D.C. city council has not only prioritized left-wing policies and programs but intentionally sought to hide their activities from Congress. It is a new day in D.C., however, and Congress intends to once again assert its authority to ensure that Washington, D.C., rightfully reflects and represents this great nation on the national and international stage."
RSC Chair August Pfluger, R-Texas, stated, "Now, Congress must take the next step and use our Article One powers."
SEN. MARSHA BLACKBURN CRITICIZES DEMOCRATS WHO MAKE ‘VILLAINS OUT OF LAW ENFORCEMENT’
FBI and Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) conduct a traffic stop near the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 14, 2025. (Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)
"We cannot and will not allow D.C. to fall into a hellscape again when the local government fails," he added. "It's our constitutional duty to act. Congress has a clear constitutional authority over D.C., and we will use it without hesitation to continue making D.C. safe and great again."
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
In a separate press conference taking place elsewhere at the Capitol at the same time, Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., also commented on Trump’s D.C. crackdown. He downplayed the crackdown’s success, claiming that "every single area of criminal activity" was "on the way down prior to the arrival of the National Guard."
Jeffries suggested the crackdown was "probably the result of Donald Trump trying to figure out a way to change the topic, given his deep unpopularity."
He said he would not support Congress extending the emergency declaration to allow the Trump administration to continue its crackdown.
Peter Pinedo is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/member-congress-says-she-assaulted-gang-youth-before-trump-dc-takeover