The Trump administration said Wednesday it will exert more control over Washington by taking over management of Union Station, the US capital's rail hub.

The announcement by Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy -- he said the station had become "dilapidated" -- came as the administration has already deployed thousands of federal agents and National Guard troops to the streets of Washington to battle what it calls a surge in violent crime.

President Donald Trump "wants Union Station to be beautiful again. He wants transit to be safe again. He wants our nation's capital to be great again," Duffy told a press conference at the stately building a stone's throw from the US Capitol.

Union Station, which opened in 1907, has been owned by the government since the 1980s but its operational contro

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