Today, I have the honor of joining President Trump for his first visit to Memphis since launching the Memphis Safe Task Force last year to end this great, historic city’s crime crisis. In many ways, he will see a Memphis that has been transformed for the better.

In 2024 under the Biden administration, Memphis recorded the highest crime rate in the country. Residents could not walk outside without fear of being robbed, assaulted, or murdered as criminal gangs turned entire neighborhoods into war zones. Under President Trump, those days are over. Since launching in September, the Memphis Safe Task Force has driven down overall crime by 43 percent compared with a year ago—including a 40 percent drop in sexual assault, 56 percent drop in robbery, 68 percent drop in motor vehicle theft, and 36 percent drop in murder. 

By coordinating resources between more than two dozen local, state, and federal agencies—including the FBI, U.S. Marshals, Tennessee Highway Patrol, Tennessee National Guard, and Memphis Police Department—the task force has been remarkably successful at getting criminals off the street. Since September, authorities have made more than 9,000 arrests, including for more than 3,300 violent offenses. Among them are hundreds of warrant arrests for domestic violence, aggravated assault, and weapons crimes, as well as dozens more for sexual assault and homicide.

These criminals are among the worst of the worst. On a single day in late February, authorities arrested a 26-year-old woman wanted for killing a two-year-old boy; a 23-year-old man facing charges of first-degree murder, aggravated robbery, aggravated assault, and reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon; and a 24-year-old man wanted for drug distribution and possession of prohibited firearms. Members of the task force are working every single day to get dangerous criminals like these off Memphis streets.

While making arrests, authorities have also recovered more than 2,200 illegal firearms and 1,200 stolen vehicles and rescued more than 150 missing children.

With this resounding success, it should come as no surprise that 62 percent of Memphians say the initiative has been effective at reducing crime. Another 86 percent support hiring more police officers, while 77 percent say they want Shelby County to build a new jail facility.

To ensure these wins for Memphis endure, the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office must prosecute violent criminals and keep them behind bars where they belong. Yet so far, District Attorney Steve Mulroy has failed to enforce Tennessee’s criminal code and hold offenders accountable.

In December, just 84 defendants in Shelby County Criminal Court received prison time out of 514 resolved felony cases. When State Senator Brent Taylor (R.) and I pressed Mulroy to explain his low prosecution rate, he admitted that 166 of those cases involved violent offenses—meaning his office released dozens of violent criminals back onto the streets with no jail time.

As Memphians begin to reclaim their city from violent criminals, it is inexcusable for the district attorney to undermine the Memphis Safe Task Force with a soft-on-crime approach to prosecution. District Attorney Mulroy must enforce the rule of law and support President Trump’s efforts to make Memphis the safest city in America.

Despite the clear shortcomings of the Shelby County District Attorney, I am incredibly optimistic about the future of Memphis. It is one of our nation’s most iconic, historic cities, and I firmly believe that—thanks to President Trump’s leadership—Memphis’s best days lie ahead.