WASHINGTON — The Trump administration announced Wednesday it was taking over Washington DC’s historic Union Station — an iconic rail hub that federal officials say has turned into a crime-ridden dump.
“Instead of being a point of pride, Washington’s Union Station has fallen into disrepair,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a statement. “By reclaiming station management, we will help make this city safe and beautiful.”
The Department of Transportation (DOT) has owned Union Station since the early 1980s, but day-to-day control has been the responsibility of the Union Station Redevelopment Corporation (USRC), a nonprofit created by a 1981 act of Congress and charged with preserving the historic terminal, which opened in 1907.
Trump has announced a crackdown on crime in Washington, DC. Ron Sachs/CNP / SplashNews.com
The National Guard is seen outside Union Station in Washington, DC on August 21, 2025. Getty ImagesIn February of this year, the station was the site of a deadly shooting during the afternoon rush hour.
“A few months ago, I was in Union Station and saw a body hit the floor at the bottom of the escalator in Union Station because there was a murder right in front of me, up on the second floor,” CNN’s conservative pundit Scott Jennings said earlier this month.
“I was going to get a tie, and I heard the shots and saw the body hit the floor. So, I’ve been listening all day long to people trying to make some argument that Washington, DC is a safe place. It’s not a safe place.”
The Trump administration plans to leverage Union Station’s commercial space as part of a new deal with Amtrak and USRC to fund improvements to elevators, lighting, and security, as well as physical repairs to the roof and other major systems, according to the DOT announcement.
The agency said it “anticipates that reinvestment and improved security will dramatically improve the income from the station, which should unlock opportunities for private investment as part of potential expansion of the station.”
Formal action confirming the DOT’s Wednesday announcement is expected in September, officials said.
Sean Duffy is the head of the Department of Transportation. Ron Sachs/CNP / SplashNews.com
Vice President JD Vance, Stephen Miller and Pete Hegseth walk through Washington, DC’s Union Station on August 20, 2025. POOL/AFP via Getty ImagesNational Guard troops have guarded sites around the capital, including Union Station, since President Trump deployed them to the city streets to crack down on violent crime earlier this month.
Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth visited soldiers at the station last week.
The DOT’s announcement came on the same day Amtrak unveiled its new high-speed Acela trains on the busy Northeast Corridor, which links Boston to Washington DC and is the busiest rail corridor in the country.
The new trains can run at speeds up to 160 mph — 10 miles per hour faster than the current trains — and will be able to carry 27% more passengers.
Five next-generation Acela trains are being rolled onto the Northeast Corridor in the next year, with a total of 28 trains due to replace 15 outdated ones, according to Duffy.
In response to the new train rollout, a spokesman for ex-Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg accused Duffy of riding on the Democrat’s coattails.
“Sean Duffy, surprising absolutely no one, taking credit for something brought to you in large part by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, signed by President Biden,” sniped Chris Meagher on X.
“These trainsets have zero dollars from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law,” the rapid response account for DOT returned fire in an X post, claiming that the “project was inundated with delays and inefficiencies for years.”
“@POTUS and @SecDuffy stepped in, cleared the red tape, and brought this project back on schedule,” the account added. “If it wasn’t for their action, these trains would still be wasting away in a Philadelphia train yard.”
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