WASHINGTON – The Department of Transportation plans to reclaim management of the capital’s Union Station rail, subway and bus hub as part of the Trump administration’s increasing control of Washington to fight crime and homeless encampments.

DOT Secretary Sean Duffy announced the move on Aug. 27 after President Donald Trump took control of the police department and mobilized hundreds of National Guard troops to Washington, including at Union Station.

The department, which already owns Union Station, is renegotiating a cooperative agreement with the nonprofit Union Station Redevelopment Corp. and Amtrak, which leases the station. The federal government’s renewed control of the iconic station, which Duffy said has been neglected for decades, is expected in September.

“We are going to make the investments to make sure that this station isn’t dirty, that we don’t have homelessness in Union Station,” Duffy told reporters at a news conference. “Not a power play – we’ve always had it. But we think that we can manage the property better.”

Union Station serves as a hub for Amtrak rail service, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority subway and regional bus lines. With more than 5.6 million rail passengers in 2024, Union Station is the second-busiest Amtrak station in the country, behind New York's Moynihan Train Hall at Penn Station.

But the station within sight of the U.S. Capitol has also served as a magnet for homeless encampments that federal authorities have removed. Duffy raised concerns in March about crime at Union Station and said Amtrak, in leasing the station, had to provide a plan to reduce and prevent crime at the station.

“The president has been very concerned about crime in our nation’s capital,” Duffy said. “He wants a capital that is worthy of the greatest country that has ever existed on the face of the earth, which means a capital that is clean, a capital that is safe and a capital that doesn’t have its parks overtaken by homelessness.”

The White House forced Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner to step down in March after four years leading the railroad. The railroad has been run by President Roger Harris since then and hasn't named a new CEO.

"It’s time for Amtrak leadership to clean up Union Station," Duffy said at the time. "It’s time to rid our nation's treasures of homelessness and crime. Commuters and travelers need to feel safe in our capital."

Taking greater federal control of the station is part of Trump’s overall goal of reducing crime in Washington and beautifying the capital. Vice President JD Vance visited Union Station with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to thank the troops for their patrols and feed them hamburgers.

Vance, a former senator, had complained about an incident where someone yelled at his son while walking through Union Station a couple of years ago. But with the arrival of National Guard troops, he said the station was safe for parents to bring their children.

Contributing: Reuters

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Train station takeover? Trump administration to take control of DC's Union Station

Reporting by Bart Jansen, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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