Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) has stoked tensions by blaming President Donald Trump for the death of a National Guard member in Washington, D.C., arguing his deployment of military personnel to U.S. cities created unnecessary risks.
The victims, identified as Sarah Beckstrom and Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, were gunned down near the White House in an attack authorities said was carried out by an Afghan national.
“The president looks everywhere except inward to blame his own policies,” Wasserman Schultz said. “We need to make sure we don’t have our military deployed in our cities handling law enforcement responsibilities.”
The Florida Democrat, who once chaired the Democratic National Committee, suggested that Trump’s “crackdown” on crime through the deployment of National Guard units had made the capital a target.
“This begs the question,” she told CNN, “would an individual have flown across the country to target law enforcement officers in Washington, D.C.? The answer is likely no. So why wasn’t the president’s first thought, ‘Maybe I should reconsider deploying military troops in the nation’s capital?’”
Trump announced the surge of federal personnel earlier this year, citing rising crime and strained police resources in major cities. The move followed violent protests and years of what Trump called “lawlessness and decay” under Democratic leadership.
The crackdown led to visible improvements in public safety — including what D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, recently described as an 87% drop in carjackings since the deployment began. But critics such as Wasserman Schultz argue the operation blurred the line between military and civilian law enforcement.
“Particularly when there hasn’t been coordination with local leadership. This administration is crossing dangerous lines,” she said.
The suspect in Wednesday’s attack, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, was described by authorities as a 29-year-old Afghan national who entered the United States under the Biden administration’s resettlement program for Afghan war allies. The FBI said Lakanwal had been on the radar of immigration officials but was never flagged as a threat.
The White House quickly rejected Wasserman Schultz’s remarks, issuing a forceful statement through spokeswoman Abigail Jackson.
“This animal would’ve never been here if not for Joe Biden’s dangerous policies, which allowed countless unvetted criminals to invade our country and harm the American people,” Jackson said. “The Trump administration is taking every measure possible — in the face of unrelenting Democrat opposition — to get these monsters out of our country and clean up the mess made by the Biden administration.”
Jackson accused Democrats of “defending terrorists instead of protecting Americans,” noting that the administration’s new ‘Reverse Migration Plan’ seeks to remove thousands of migrants who entered the country under Biden-era refugee programs.
The exchange underscored how the political debate over immigration and public safety has intensified since the D.C. shooting, which officials have described as a deliberate act of anti-American violence.
In her interview, Wasserman Schultz also pushed back against Trump’s renewed call to review and reinterview refugees admitted during Biden’s presidency, saying it risked “sweeping generalizations” that could stigmatize legitimate wartime allies.
“If there were gaps that admitted this person, they would have failed over multiple levels,” she said. “And this individual was trusted enough to participate in assisting our military during the war in Afghanistan.”
Administration officials say the president’s upcoming public safety package, expected to be announced next week, will include expanded federal authority to revoke asylum and refugee status for any foreign national charged with violent crimes.
