(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Congresswoman Ashley Hinson is among a group of Republicans expressing concern about public safety in Washington, D.C.  During a subcommittee hearing in the U-S House this week, Hinson suggested visitors think twice about booking a trip to the nation’s capital.

Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser told Hinson the violent crime rate in the district is down 32 percent from last year.

Hinson says as Washington prepared to host large crowds for the presidential inauguration on January 20th, public policy should be paramount.

Hinson says the D-C mayor enabled anti-police rhetoric during protests in the summer of 2020 and, in the aftermath, D-C leaders must do more to reduce carjackings, assaults and thefts.

D-C’s mayor says the vast majority of crimes in the city are committed by a small group of people. She and other D-C officials are asking congress to ensure more of those charged with committing a felony in the District of Columbia are prosecuted. Federal law calls for those cases to be handled in federal courts, but since mid-2023, the U-S Attorney for the District of Columbia has cited inadequate staffing and declined to prosecute over two-thirds of felony arrests presented to his office. President-elect Trump suggested during the campaign he would dissolve the local government in Washington, D.C. and have the federal government run everything in the District.