The D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force created through one of President Donald Trump's executive orders held its first meeting Monday, and a memo obtained by News4 gives new information on the task force's agenda.
President Trump signed the "Making the District of Columbia Safe and Beautiful" executive order on March 27, establishing the task force to increase police presence in public areas, maximize immigration enforcement, expedite concealed carry licenses and crack down on Metro fare evasion.
According to the internal memo obtained by News4, Orville Greene is the chair of the task force. The memo states Greene is the director of the Homeland Security Council Transitional Threat Directorate.
Greene was formerly a New York City Police Department officer and, more recently, a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) special agent in Detroit.
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Trump's order called for respresentatives of “key government agencies" to sit in on the task force, including the Department of the Interior, Department of Transportation, Department of Homeland Security, FBI, U.S. Marshals Service, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the
U.S. attorneys' offices for D.C., Maryland and the Eastern District of Virginia.
In the memo, Greene raises the possibility of adding more agencies to the task force, including the DEA, U.S. Capitol Police, the Federal Protective Service, Amtrak Police, the General Services Administration and the National Capital Planning Commission. He also called for local representatives from the D.C. government to be participants.
Greene's memo, which was sent to D.C. officials as part of an invitation to participate in the meeting, detailed the focus of the meeting and the goals of the task force.
At the top of the meeting agenda: reviewing D.C.'s enforcement of and compliance with federal immigration law, improving police recruitment and retention, reviewing the concealed carry permits process and cleaning up public monuments, memorials and homeless encampments.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said she opted not to send any representatives to the meeting. Bowser said she sent a written response instead.
Bowser said she has some requests of the task force and the Trump administration.
"Number one, we need the House to pass the budget fix, and we need it to happen this week. We also outlined what we understand recently that the NPS, the National Park Service, has been impacted by cuts and they have reduced the number of trash pickups on the Mall. So we're asking them to restore, I think, three times daily trash pickups on the Mall," Bowser said. "We saw with the cherry blossom weekend, some overflowing trash cans. That's not beautiful. So we want that fixed."
As for the task force's focus on public safety, Bowser had another request.
"I asked [the chief of police] if this task force could could help with police presence in any way, what would be the request? The request was more patrols from Park Police on the parkways that are in or approach the District: George Washington Parkway, Suitland Parkway and B.W. Parkway," Bowser said.
In February, Trump said he supports putting D.C. directly under federal control.
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