"In the last 10 years, in narcotics task forces, in a number of violent crime task forces, we've worked very closely together with state and local law enforcement"
About this Quote
The phrase “worked very closely together” is doing heavy political lifting. It’s a soft-focus gloss over a famously tense landscape: federal agencies and local departments often clash over jurisdiction, tactics, credit, and accountability. Mueller’s wording denies that friction without ever mentioning it, recasting coordination as the default state of the union. “Task forces” repeats like a mantra, implying structure, professionalism, and shared mission while avoiding specifics that could invite scrutiny: which cases, which outcomes, what tradeoffs?
Contextually, this sounds like a man defending a model of post-1990s American policing: multi-agency partnerships, intelligence-sharing, and federal resources plugged into local enforcement. “Narcotics” and “violent crime” are not neutral categories; they evoke public fear and political consensus, the reliable justifications for expanded budgets and broader authority. Subtext: trust the network, not the personality. Mueller isn’t selling himself; he’s selling the legitimacy of the interlocking system he represents, a system that wants to be seen as apolitical even when its priorities are deeply political.
Quote Details
| Topic | Police & Firefighter |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Mueller, Robert. (2026, January 16). In the last 10 years, in narcotics task forces, in a number of violent crime task forces, we've worked very closely together with state and local law enforcement. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/in-the-last-10-years-in-narcotics-task-forces-in-106179/
Chicago Style
Mueller, Robert. "In the last 10 years, in narcotics task forces, in a number of violent crime task forces, we've worked very closely together with state and local law enforcement." FixQuotes. January 16, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/in-the-last-10-years-in-narcotics-task-forces-in-106179/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"In the last 10 years, in narcotics task forces, in a number of violent crime task forces, we've worked very closely together with state and local law enforcement." FixQuotes, 16 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/in-the-last-10-years-in-narcotics-task-forces-in-106179/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.

