(WASHINGTON) — Washington, D.C.’s top elected leaders on Thursday warned that President Donald Trump’s federal law enforcement surge has undermined public trust and threatened the city’s autonomy, even as they pressed Congress to help the District rebuild its police force and fill critical judicial vacancies.

Mayor Muriel Bowser, Council Chairman Phil Mendelson and Attorney General Brian Schwalb told the House Oversight Committee that while crime rates have fallen to 30-year lows, the city still needs long-term federal support, not armed National Guard patrols. All three leaders urged Congress to fund new facilities, confirm judges, and back efforts to restore the Metropolitan Police Department’s ranks to nearly 4,000 officers.

Both Mendelson and Schwalb criticized the effectiveness and

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