By: Miriam Edelman
What will happen to the nation’s capital once President-Elect Donald Trump is President again? Will the federal government actually take over the District of Columbia, as Trump has threatened? Will D.C. lose its limited home rule/its elected government? Will commissioners govern D.C. again? Will Trump follow through on his threats against the nation’s capital? Since D.C. is not a state, Trump could attempt to federalize D.C.’s police and many D.C. government powers after he is sworn into office in January.
D.C.’s local leaders are concerned about and are prepared for the second Trump Administration. This piece is a follow-up to DCNOW’s blog’s recent piece, entitled “Elections 2024’s Implications on Washington, D.C.”
D.C. is under greater threat now than it was when Trump left the Presidency in 2021. As Michael Thorning, the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Director of Structural Democracy, said, “the politics around D.C. have changed since the first Trump administration.” Thorning said,
Congressional Republicans have paid a lot more attention to what’s been going on in the District. The District has really become a microcosm, or a political laboratory, around which members of Congress have tried to exert an unusual amount of influence compared to recent years.
President-Elect Trump has mainly been quiet about the District of Columbia recently, but he and the Republican Party 2024 platform were hostile to Washington, D.C. During the summer of 2024, Trump said, “We will take over the horribly run capital of our nation in Washington, D.C., and clean it up, renovate it and rebuild our capital city so there is no longer a nightmare of murder and crime,” and
But, rather, it will become the most beautiful capital anywhere in the world. Right now, if you leave Florida – let's go, darling. Let's look at the Jefferson Memorial, let's look at the Washington Monument. Let's go and look at some of the beautiful scenes, and you end up getting shot, mugged, raped.
Trump also remarked, “We have a capital that we all love. Right now it's a rat-infested, graffiti-infested, and we're going to take it away from the mayor. And again, that doesn't make me popular there, but I have to say it."
As was discussed in DCNOW’s blog’s piece, entitled “D.C. in 2024 Republican and Democratic Party Platforms,” the 2024 GOP Platform discussed Republicans’ desire for more federal control of Washington, D.C. It also continued Republicans’ focus on crime in the nation’s capital.
Republican insiders think that the most likely situation is that Trump will take over public safety and perhaps federalize D.C.’s police. D.C. Republican Party Chair Patrick Mara sees Trump taking partial control over D.C. He would not be shocked if Trump takes control over the Metropolitan Police Department, but he does not see the federal government completely taking over D.C. Discussing the importance of public safety, Mara said, “public safety is something that's near and dear to Republicans in D.C. And it's something that again, members of Congress, that's one of the only things that these folks have been mentioning when they go down to talk with President Trump in Mar-a-Lago." When asked about Trump’s anti-D.C. comments, Mara said:
These people have no interest in taking over D.C. because there's a realization that for Congress or even the federal government to run D.C., there are a whole bunch of issues that come with that. And when it comes time to finally have some sort of a focus on D.C., I think what will happen is the administration will recognize, if they haven't already, that we need to focus on getting our legislative agenda through.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser would like collaboration between D.C. and Trump and asked to meet with Trump. Such a meeting would not be unprecedented, as at Bowser’s request, Bowser met with Trump on December 6, 2016, when he was President-Elect. She would like federal employees to work in person again and D.C. to gain control of underutilized federal buildings, turning them into housing and stores. She wants the status quo regarding D.C.’s governance to be maintained, but she acknowledged that Congress could change D.C.’s Home Rule. Bowser’s administration also plans to meet with new Members of Congress.
Bowser’s staff have prepared for possible federal attacks against D.C. She said that if necessary, D.C. might defend itself and its home rule against the federal government in court. The Office of Attorney General would lead that work. However, as D.C. is not a state and as the President would have power over D.C., Bowser’s administration sources believe that D.C. most likely would not be successful in court. Regarding Trump’s desire to federalize D.C.’s police and possibly move federal employees from D.C., Bowser said:
That is possible. That is probably not a likely occurrence. In a very volatile time, those threats were made but not executed. So, what I think is important for all D.C. residents to recognize is, we’re not in a new place. We’ve been in this place before. What we have done is we follow the law, and we defended ourselves.
Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) expressed deep concerns about Trump’s return to the presidency:
Well, I'm very concerned that [Trump] would take over the District of Columbia. My level of concern could not be deeper. You know, presidents usually don't pay that much attention to the city, and it looks like he would be laser-focused on the District of Columbia.
In July 2024, she said, “If he gets back in power, more than any president before him, we think he will focus on D.C. and do everything from taking back our home rule to trying to get rid of whatever bills we have passed” and “It would be a terrible catastrophe for D.C.” She also remarked, “It’s hard to think about being in worse shape than we are now, but losing control of the Senate would certainly do it.” As Republicans gained control of the White House and the Senate while maintaining control of the House from the 2024 elections, D.C. will be at greater risk next year.
Other local leaders are concerned about the District of Columbia, given results of the 2024 elections. Former Bowser Director of federal and regional affairs and repeat political candidate Eugene Kinlow said, “Washington, DC will be under assault in a way that we haven’t seen in a very long time.” There is concern that the future Republicans-controlled Congress could affect D.C.’s laws on a wide array of policy areas, including abortion, traffic cameras, immigration, physician-assisted suicides, non-citizen voting, marijuana, the minimum wage, and guns.
As has been described in multiple DCNOW blog pieces, during the current Congress, Members of Congress attacked D.C., especially on crime. In 2023, Trump’s Vice President-Elect JD Vance led the Senate’s attempt to prevent D.C.’s policing bill from becoming law, denouncing it as “a disgrace that the capital of the most powerful nation on earth has become so dangerous.” Vance’s measure passed the Senate, but President Joe Biden vetoed it. As was stated in DCNOW’s blog’s post, entitled “D.C.’s Policing Bill Becomes Law After a Veto by President Joe Biden,” Vance said
Congress must exert our constitutional authority to keep our nation’s capital safe. It’s a disgrace that the capital of the most powerful nation on earth has become so dangerous, but this sad reality is exactly what we should expect when far-left activists are calling the shots. For the good of every American who lives in or visits this town, I urge my colleagues to support my disapproval motion.
Local D.C. officials are concerned about undocumented immigrants, as Trump has threatened mass deportations. Bowser said, “We don’t know what it’s going to look like. ... I think we should to expect ... we don't know where it's going to start, I'm not sure it matters where it starts, but people who are not documented, I think, are vulnerable.”
Home Rule very well could be under greater attack once Trump becomes President. Although the controversial Project 2025 does not call for ending Home Rule, local Republicans, who are irritated with the D.C. Council, would like to end Home Rule. Chuck Thies, a political operative, said “If the Republicans win control of Capitol Hill, Home Rule as we know it is dead.” Former D.C. Shadow Representative John Capozzi agrees that Republicans are strongly in favor of ending Home Rule. He fears devastating consequences that could happen if the federal government gets more involved with D.C. affairs.
However, others view repealing home rule as unlikely. A Republican filibuster-proof majority in the Senate would most likely be required to end Home Rule, and the Republicans will be far from this majority when they take over the Senate early next year. Although D.C. shadow Senator-elect Ankit Jain is hopeful that Home Rule will stay, he speculated that Republicans could end Home Rule if they either got rid of the filibuster or gained support from several Democrats. As was stated in DCNOW’s blog’s piece, entitled “Elections 2024’s Implications on Washington, D.C.,” outgoing Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) already said soon after the 2024 elections, “I think one of the most gratifying results of the Senate becoming Republican, the filibuster will stand.” Some Democratic senators have already voted against D.C. autonomy and could do so again.
It is also unclear who would govern D.C. if Home Rule were abolished. Republicans have not developed a replacement for D.C.s’ government, just as they never had a plan for what would replace the Affordable Care Act. Federally-appointed commissioners could govern D.C. again, but the federal government might not want to completely govern D.C. As Jain asked, “Do they want to become the municipal government for Washington DC?” Only a few Members of Congress want to be responsible for city government duties. D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson was incredulous regarding Senator Mike Lee’s recent bill that would end home rule in D.C., remarking “That Congress is going to take over the District? They can’t pass a budget on time.” DCNOW’s blog piece, entitled “Congress Again Tries to Overrule a D.C. Regulation and End D.C. Home Rule,” discusses the bill.
Even if Home Rule were maintained, the federal government could reinstate the Control Board. From 1995 to 2001, the Control Board controlled local D.C. affairs. According to NBC4, the Control Board never disappeared. NBC4 said that the President could issue a fiscal or crime emergency and then appoint a board to govern D.C. Former Councilmember Jack Evans fears a return of the Control Board, saying “It would be catastrophic for the city, because you get one swing at the plate;" "A second time we get a Control Board in this city, we won't get rid of it, and it'll be here for a long, long time. So, I can't stress the importance of this not happening;" and "Democracy would pretty much not exist in the sense that the Control Board and city manager would be running the city. The mayor would have ceremonial functions like [Mayor Marion] Barry [Jr,.] did back in the day.” Evans also remarked, “the Control Board could overturn any law that the council passed.”
Federalizing D.C.’s police is conceivable. D.C.’s Home Rule Act allows for at least limited federal take-over of D.C. police, saying:
Whenever the President of the United States determines that special conditions of an emergency nature exist which require the use of the Metropolitan Police force for Federal purposes, he may direct the mayor to provide him, and the mayor shall provide, such services of the Metropolitan Police force as the President may deem necessary and appropriate.
During Black Lives Matter demonstrations in 2020, then-President Trump and his staff created a plan for federalizing the police force. However, D.C.’s police was not taken over, as Trump was stopped by advisors. Those guardrails might not return during Trump’s second term. However, Trump used thousands of federal law enforcement officers and between 3,800 and 5,000 National Guard soldiers from 11 states, the majority of which had Republican governors, to handle demonstrations near the White House. Trump could do the same again when he becomes the U.S.’s 47th President.
Even D.C.’s appearance could be in danger next year. The Presidentially-appointed Commission of Fine Arts approves new construction in large parts of D.C., but that commission usually defers to others and supports similar buildings no matter who is President. However, Trump’s initial Administration’s Commission of Fine Arts was led by Justin Shubow, whose National Civic Art Society “promotes the classical and humanistic tradition in public art and architecture.” The 2024 Republican Party Platform said, “Republicans will reassert greater Federal Control over Washington, DC to restore Law and Order in our Capital City, and ensure Federal Buildings and Monuments are well-maintained.”
Project 2025’s D.C.’s recommendations could also be implemented by the Republicans-controlled government. Project 2025 calls for increases in school vouchers, prohibitions preventing schools from teaching critical race theory, and prohibitions of race-based benefits.
Additional Congressional meddling in local D.C. affairs would make statehood even more crucial and even more possible. As Jain said, “If you wouldn’t like the federal government coming in and taking control of your police force, setting policy on traffic safety, on emissions standards, on local legislation, around women’s right to choose, then why would you want the federal government to do that to the people of Washington, DC?” Public outcry could mobilize people from outside D.C. to request their Members of Congress to grant statehood to Washington, D.C.
Kommentare