Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) savaged Democrats’ soft-on-crime policies during a recent Senate hearing in which he pushed legislation that would remove restrictions placed on police officers in Washington, DC.
During a Monday Senate Judiciary Committee hearing titled “Blue City Chaos and Tragedy: How the Trump Administration is Addressing the Human Cost of Soft On Crime Policies,” Cruz dismantled a common argument coming from the left about crime rates.
One of the Democrats’ favorite tactics is pointing out that red states have higher rates of crime than others. However, Cruz added more context. “There’s a reason they were talking about red states, because unfortunately, most red states have blue cities,” the lawmaker said. “And that’s where the crime is.”
“If you want to look at in 2023, the large cities with the most homicides per 100,000 people, number one was New Orleans, Louisiana. Number two was Memphis, Tennessee. Number three was St. Louis City. Number four was Baltimore City. Was Washington, DC,” Cruz added. “Democrat crime policies kill people. Soros DAs who let murderers out of jail kill people.”
Unfortunately, most red states have blue cities, and that’s where the crime is.
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) September 30, 2025
Democrat crime policies get people killed. pic.twitter.com/E5Oe4CCbxF
Cruz also highlighted the devastating impact of crime on public safety, naming several victims of violent crimes. “We need to understand these are not just numbers,” he said.
These are some of the faces behind the numbers.
— Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) September 30, 2025
Edward Coristine, 19.
Eric Tarpinian-Jachym, 21.
Honesty Cheadle, 3.
Sarah Lynn Milgrim, 26.
Yaron Lischinsky, 30.
Mike Gill, 56. pic.twitter.com/pIGacWwSEy
The senator addressed those criticizing the Trump administration for federalizing Washington, D.C.’s law enforcement while deploying the National Guard. “You should be cheering a 57% decrease in crime, robbery, a 58% decrease in homicide,” Cruz argued. “There are people in DC alive because the guard is there, and not a single Democrat is saying, ‘That's good.’ Not a single Democrat is saying, ‘We're glad those people are alive. Instead, they're saying, Take them off the street and let the murderers run free.’”
There are people in D.C. who are alive because the Guard is there, and not a single Democrat can say that’s a good thing.
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) September 30, 2025
They’d rather let the murderers run free. pic.twitter.com/1luw37Id5T
Cruz introduced the CLEAN DC Act in September. If passed, the legislation would repeal the DC Council’s Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Amendment Act of 2022, which enacted tighter restrictions on police conduct. It bans certain tactics such as chokeholds and “any other technique that causes asphyxiation.”
The law also imposes stricter limits on consent searches, deadly force, and vehicular pursuits. It also established new training requirements on issues such as racism, white supremacy, and de-escalation and created a public database of disciplinary records.