How Congress Could Force $1.1 Billion in Cuts on Washington, D.C.

New York Times

12-03-2025

As Senate Democrats debate the House bill passed on Tuesday that would fund the government through Sept. 30, one flashpoint will be the legislation's impact on Washington, D.C. While the measure slightly decreases federal spending overall, it forces a crippling cut of more than $1 billion from the remaining six months of the District of Columbia's budget.
The House measure comes at a time when President Trump has floated a federal takeover of D.C. and Republicans have tried to weigh in on local bills, curbing the city's independence. The current spending bill could force layoffs at schools, the Police Department and other critical city agencies, compounding the economic troubles triggered by the administration's federal work force cuts.
Local officials point out that the city collected the tax revenue necessary to cover its 2025 $21.2 billion operating budget, so the congressional measure, if passed, would simply stop Washington from spending money it already has on the priorities it has deemed necessary to keep the city safe and prosperous. Representative Eleanor Holmes Norton, a Democrat who represents the District of Columbia as a delegate, but has no vote in the House, referred to the omission as 'nothing less than fiscal sabotage of D.C.'
Mayor Muriel E. Bowser has tried to strike a balancing act, taking a diplomatic approach toward Mr. Trump and pledging to work with him on shared priorities. She said on Monday that the spending cut would 'work against a priority that President Trump and I share, and that is to make Washington, D.C., the best, most beautiful city in the world.'
Here's what to know about the proposed freeze on D.C.'s budget.
Why does Congress have say over Washington's budget?
Washington's ability to govern itself has been limited for a long time. Under a law that established 'home rule' in Washington more than 50 years ago, Congress maintains power over the city, including final approval over its laws and annual budget.
But Washington generates most of its own money: It gets about 75 percent of its funding through local revenue. Another 24 percent comes through federal grants, while less than 1 percent comes from direct federal funds.
'Most folks, unfortunately, in this country think the District of Columbia is funded by the federal government,' Phil Mendelson, the chairman of the D.C. Council, said at a news conference on Monday. 'We are not. It is true that we are included in an appropriations act — not that we want to be.'
Typically, D.C. officials create a spending plan for the city, which is then approved by Congress.
How would the cut work?
During this latest struggle to fund the federal government, House Republicans omitted routine language approving the D.C. budget and treated the city like a federal agency.
While agencies have not yet approved their fiscal 2025 budgets, D.C. in June approved a $21.2 billion budget for 2025, 7 percent higher than the previous year's. Officials curbed some spending and offset the overall increase in costs by imposing additional fees, including a public safety fee on hotel stays, and by raising some business taxes, such as the paid family leave tax.
Congress initially approved the budget, but the House bill now forces D.C. to spend in line with its 2024 budget of $19.8 billion, as all other federal agencies are being asked to do.
'We are not a federal agency,' Mayor Bowser said at a recent news conference. 'Our budget was balanced and approved. And if we go back to fiscal 2024 levels, we would be forced to reduce spending by $1.1 billion in only six months.'
District leaders say that the sudden spending reduction is wildly unfair because Washington raises most of its own money but does not have final say over how it is spent.
What will this mean for the city?
District leaders have warned that the effects of the freeze would be 'devastating' for the city, most likely leading to layoffs in public safety and public schools.
That is partly a matter of timing. The city needs to scramble, within a matter of days, to find the necessary savings between now and the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30. But a lot of its budget is tied up in contracts, leases and Medicaid, and cutting that spending would take time.
So local officials have warned that the most immediate targets would instead be salaries for city workers, such as police officers and teachers.
The city was already facing another kind of economic crisis. The Trump administration has fired thousands of federal workers, which could cost Washington around $1 billion in lost revenue of a different kind over the next three years, according to the city's estimate.
D.C. has also been working on a plan to balance its budget over five years.
Why is this coming up now?
The bill that carves this slice from Washington's budget is not focused solely on the city. It is part of a broad federal spending bill that lawmakers hope will avert a government shutdown. The most recent interim spending bill, known as a 'continuing resolution,' expires this week.
The measure passed by the House on Tuesday, now pending before the Senate, would fund the government through Sept. 30. While the previous continuing resolution approved the budget for D.C., this one does not.
What happens next?
Washington's fate is now in the hands of Senate Democrats, whose support is necessary for the federal bill to pass. 'I'm looking at options to force a vote on this critical issue in order to enable D.C. to continue operating under its current budget,' Senator Chris Van Hollen, Democrat of Maryland, said in a statement.
After a two-hour closed-door luncheon on Wednesday, Democrats were divided on whether to support the House legislation. Many of them are reluctant to do so because it enables the Trump administration to cut federal spending without consulting Congress.
Some lawmakers said that they could not give Mr. Trump a blank check to continue reshaping the government. Others, though, were wary of forcing a government shutdown, which could prompt political and economic consequences that extend well beyond Washington.
Lawmakers have until the end of March 14, when the current federal spending measure expires, to avoid a government shutdown.