Trump endorses budget fix that would restore Washington, D.C., shortfall and urges House to pass it

Boston Globe

28-03-2025

Earlier this month, the House passed a federal government funding bill that would force the district's government to revert to its 2024 budget parameters, effectively cutting $1.1 billion from its budget midway through the financial year.
Get Starting Point
A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday.
Enter Email
Sign Up
Bowser spearheaded an intense congressional lobbying campaign to prevent the change, saying it would result in immediate across-the-board cuts to staffing and programs, including teachers and police officers being laid off.
Advertisement
The Senate approved the funding bill with the cut but immediately followed up with a separate bill that would make the district's budget whole again. That measure now awaits House approval, and Bowser has delayed unveiling her 2026 budget plan until the issue is resolved.
Despite indications that Trump supported the budget fix, he had not publicly weighed in until now. The House adjourns for its spring recess on April 11, and House Republican leadership has remained vague on the topic, with Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana saying Tuesday that it was too early to confirm when the House would vote on the budget fix.
'We're working through that,' Johnson said.
Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana said earlier this week that the district's claim of financial ruin 'sounds overstated.'
House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York said Thursday that the April 11 recess provides a natural deadline and a sense of urgency.
'It needs to happen before we go on the next district work period, which means it should occur either next week or the week after next,' Jeffries said.
Advertisement
Speaking before Trump's Friday posting, Jeffries said, 'apparently even Donald Trump himself has expressed support for the need to correct this egregious error.'
Trump's endorsement of the budget fix comes amid a flurry of attention on the nation's capital, with the president issuing a series of statements and executive orders targeting crime, homelessness, immigration policy and gun control in the district.
On Thursday night, Trump issued an executive order establishing the inter-departmental D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force, which he said would coordinate with local officials on such things as enforcing federal immigration law, including deporting people living illegally in the city, boosting the law enforcement presence and increasing the speed and lowering the cost of processing applications to carry concealed weapons.
'America's capital must be a place in which residents, commuters, and tourists feel safe at all hours, including on public transit. Its highways, boulevards, and parks should be clean, well-kept, and pleasant,' the order stated. 'Its monuments, museums, and buildings should reflect and inspire awe and appreciation for our Nation's strength, greatness, and heritage.'
And despite the support for the budget fix, Trump's Friday morning posting also came with criticism of the nation's capital and a warning: 'We need to clean up our once beautiful Capital City, and make it beautiful again.'
'We will be TOUGH ON CRIME, like never before,' Trump wrote. 'I will work with the Mayor on this and, if it does not happen, will have no choice but to do it myself.'