The Trump administration has assumed control of Union Station, Washington, D.C.’s main transportation hub, transferring management from Amtrak to the Department of Transportation. The move marks the latest step in a sweeping federal takeover of the nation’s capital, which has already seen law enforcement powers shifted away from local authorities.
Union Station, just blocks from Capitol Hill, has long been a focal point for both commuters and visitors. While federal officials described the site as deteriorating and unsafe, critics argue the station has already undergone significant improvements in recent years, including the clearance of homeless encampments and progress on a $10 billion expansion project announced last year.
The change in oversight is being framed as part of a broader campaign to reshape the capital’s infrastructure and security under direct federal control. For supporters, the move signals an effort to impose order and modernization on a high-profile landmark. For opponents, it is yet another example of centralized authority displacing local governance in Washington.
Union Station’s new status underscores a defining theme of the administration’s approach to the city: visible, high-impact assertions of control that blend politics, symbolism, and power over some of the capital’s most iconic spaces.
