The latest fight over who actually calls the shots on public safety in the nation’s capital is heading to the House Rules Committee on Tuesday, with H.R. 5103, the Make the District of Columbia Safe and Beautiful Act of 2026, at the center of the brawl. The bill would set up a new federal commission to advise on crime and immigration enforcement in D.C. and order a federal beautification program for parks, monuments and other heavily trafficked federal spaces in the District. Backers say it tightens security and spruces up the city at the same time, while critics blast it as an unprecedented reach into D.C. home rule.
The committee has posted a notice placing the D.C. bill on its March 24 agenda and scheduled the meeting for 4 p.m. ET at the U.S. Capitol, where the panel plans to weigh a broader package of homeland security and District-related measures, according to the House Rules Committee. The notice also lists H.R. 8029 and H.R. 7084 among the other items set for consideration.
What the bill would do
H.R. 5103 would create a District of Columbia Safe and Beautiful Commission inside the executive branch and tell the Department of the Interior to run a federal program to clean and maintain popular areas in the District, including monuments, parks and major roadways. The commission would bring together representatives from the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices for the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia alongside other federal agencies, and it would be tasked with recommending steps on enforcing federal immigration law, coordinating federal resources to reduce crime, and helping with law-enforcement recruitment and retention, according to Congress.gov.
Where the idea comes from
The proposal largely writes into law key pieces of President Trump’s March 27, 2025 executive order titled “Making the District of Columbia Safe and Beautiful,” which set up a federal task force and directed agencies to increase enforcement and maintenance across federal sites in the capital. That order supplied the policy blueprint lawmakers are now trying to lock into statute, according to the White House.
Supporters frame it as safety and stewardship
House Republicans and the House Oversight Committee have cast the bill as a bid to restore public safety and protect federal property, and the committee advanced H.R. 5103 as part of a 14-bill package aimed at crime and other District issues, according to the House Oversight Committee. The Department of the Interior told lawmakers during a Natural Resources subcommittee hearing that it backs the bill’s beautification provisions and would help carry out the maintenance program, according to the Department of the Interior.
Local leaders say it undercuts home rule
D.C. officials have pushed back hard, arguing the measure hands federal appointees powers that should remain with locally elected leaders. The committee report cites the D.C. Council calling the package “an unprecedented attack on the autonomy and home rule of our local government,” as detailed in the committee report. The District’s attorney general also sued federal officials last year over the federal surge in enforcement, arguing those actions violated the Home Rule Act and Posse Comitatus protections, according to the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia.
What comes next
If the Rules Committee signs off on a rule for floor debate, House leaders could move H.R. 5103 to a full vote, a step supporters say would cement the White House program in federal law while opponents warn it would invite court challenges and intense political pushback. Ongoing legal fights over the earlier executive surge suggest litigation could complicate any attempt to stand up a new statutory commission, according to the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia.
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