Rahm Is In D.C. Today To Meet With AG Jeff Sessions & Jared Kushner, Trump's Son-In-Law

By Rachel Cromidas in News on Feb 13, 2017 9:22PM

As President Donald Trump continues to blast Chicago for its struggles with violent crime, Mayor Rahm Emanuel is in D.C. Monday to meet with Trump Administration officials, including newly-confirmed Attorney General Jeff Sessions and son-in-law/underling Jared Kushner.

Crime is one topic of discussion during the meetings, sources told the Tribune. Sessions is overseeing the Justice Department at a time when Chicago is in the midst of negotiating a federal consent decree in the wake of a damning civil rights investigation into the Chicago Police Department last year. The DOJ's 13-month-long investigation and subsequent report shined a light on civil rights abuses within CPD and harshly criticized the department's use of force, but it's unclear how the DOJ's priorities will differ under Sessions, who has said police departments need a morale boost.

Emanuel's visit to D.C. also comes on the heels of Trump's opposition to sanctuary cities and his administration's recent spate of anti-immigrant executive orders. Chicago is a sanctuary city and Emanuel vowed to maintain that designation in the face of Trump's threats to pull federal funding from Chicago and other cities last month.

In addition to his talks with Sessions and Kushner, Emanuel is also slated to meet with transportation officials to discuss some $1 billion in federal funding that former President Barack Obama's administration set aside for Chicago.

On the D.C. trip, Emanuel spokesman Matt McGrath told the Sun-Times that the mayor would hold a “series of meetings with agencies and senior administration officials about our ongoing partnerships with the federal government,” and “among the topics he’ll be discussing are several priority projects that would invest in Chicago’s infrastructure and put people to work."

Anonymous sources also told the Sun-Times that Emanuel's agenda also included discussing Chicago crime trends and building up his now virtually non-existent relationship with Trump.

“The mayor has ideas on how the Trump administration can be helpful on infrastructure and public safety. But first and foremost, he needs to establish a relationship,” one source told the Sun-Times.