Senator Art Haywood, whose district office is in Abington Township, is planning to introduce the Protecting PA Police Act, a piece of legislation aimed at protecting Pennsylvania’s municipal police departments and state troopers from federal takeover.

Haywood’s bill is a response to President Donald Trump’s order last week to take over the Metropolitan Police Department and activate Washington, D.C.’s National Guard.

Trump reportedly said the action was necessary to “restore law and order” and said he may target other cities.

“We want to make sure that we maintain the local control in the police departments as well as the state troopers that we have in Pennsylvania,” Haywood told WHYY News. “Now is the time to make sure that we have every extra protection because the behavior of the president is very clear in the last six months.”

The bill’s language is not yet available. From Senator Haywood’s memo:

In recent days, President Trump has taken control of the Washington, D.C. police force against the demands of the Mayor. The President has pledged to take over police operations in other cities as well.

The importance of allowing for local control of our law enforcement agencies cannot be overstated. To prevent President Trump from commandeering the resources and manpower of our local law enforcement agencies, I intend to introduce in the near future the Protecting PA Police Act.

Please join me in cosponsoring this time-sensitive legislation to protect the future of Pennsylvania’s democracy, along with the dignity of our neighbors.

In January, Haywood was featured by The Philadelphia Inquirer regarding his hopes for Pennsylvania to maintain its diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in the face of President Donald Trump’s recent executive order.

“What we look to do is to make sure that our laws here in Pennsylvania have the protections that we once relied on the federal government to produce,” Haywood said during a news conference at Mother Bethel A.M.E. Church in Society Hill.

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