Latest news with #BOWSER
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Boebert suggests GOP could rename DC ‘District of America'
Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) urged lawmakers to stop making fun of President Trump's decision to rename the Gulf of America, suggesting the nation's capital could undergo the same change. 'I would caution my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to refrain from making jokes about the Gulf of America because next up may be the District of America that we are working on,' Boebert said during a Tuesday hearing for the House Natural Resources Committee. Boebert made these remarks at a legislative hearing for the Gulf of America Act to support Trump's executive order through technical amendments. The Hill has reached out to Boebert's office. In the first days of his second term, Trump changed the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, along with reversing the name of Alaska's Denali back to Mount McKinley. Trump has questioned D.C. Mayor Bowser's (D) ability to lead the city, citing an uptick in crime and homelessness as a reason for federal leadership over the municipality. The president and Bowser met in December, but soon after their closed-door talk, the three-term mayor faced public scrutiny from Republican leaders. Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) introduced the Bringing Oversight to Washington and Safety to Every Resident (BOWSER) Act, an acronym for Bowser, in early February in an effort to repeal the Home Rule Act which permits, D.C.'s autonomous style of government. Trump addressed the District on March 14 in remarks at the Justice Department (DOJ). 'We're cleaning up our city. We're cleaning up this great capital, and we're not going to have crime and we're not going to stand for crime, and we're going to take the graffiti down and we're already taken to tents down there,' Trump said in his speech on 'law and order.' 'We're working with the administration, and if the administration can't do the job … we're gonna have to take it back and run it through the federal government,' the president said of the District's leadership. 'But we hope the administration is going to be able — so far, they've been doing very well. The mayor has been doing a good job.' A week prior to those comments, Trump ordered Bowser to remove the Black Lives Matter plaza across from the White House which the BOWSER Act has suggested be renamed to Liberty Plaza. While lettering has been removed, a formal decision to rename the street awaits a vote from Congress. Bowser has remained vocal about attacks from Congress seeking to infringe on the city's autonomy. She recently pointed out an issue in the continuing resolution which sought to revert D.C. to its 2024 budget with a $1.1 billion deficit as authored by House GOP members. 'We are not a federal agency,' Bowser said. 'We are a city, county, state all at once, and we provide direct services to the people of the District of Columbia, visitors to the District of Columbia, businesses in the District of Columbia, diplomats and visiting heads of state and everyone who works here in the Congress.' Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine) House Appropriations Committee Chair Tom Cole (R-Okla.) introduced a bill to fix the issue, which passed successfully on March 14. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
DC mayor responds to proposed 'Bowser Act,' which aims to repeal Home Rule
The Brief Two Republican congressmen have introduced a bill that would repeal Home Rule in D.C. if passed D.C. has operated under Home Rule since 1973, ensuring residents can vote for their elected officials D.C. mayor said the district is focused on making the district become the 51st state WASHINGTON - D.C.'s mayor is responding to a proposed bill that aims to repeal Home Rule in the district and could strip the powers of the D.C. government if passed. The bill was introduced by Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tennessee last week. It has been named the "Bringing Oversight to Washington and Safety to Every Resident" (BOWSER) Act in the Senate and House, named after District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser. According to the bill sponsors, the proposal is in response to the mayor and city council's "failure to prevent violent crime, corruption, and voting by non-citizens". It would repeal the District of Columbia Home Rule Act one year after passage. Mayor Bowser has addressed calls to repeal Home Rule in recent months and doubled down on her past statements Monday that D.C. has followed the law and is prepared to continue defending itself. "Home Rule is a limited self-government, but what we should be focused on is our pathway to becoming the 51st state," Mayor Bowser said Monday. The backstory Home Rule refers to the law signed in 1973 by President Richard Nixon, which created a local government for Washington, D.C. It granted DC residents the ability to elect a mayor and council, but Congress retained the power to overrule local legislation and D.C. residents remained without a vote in Congress. Prior to Home Rule being enacted, D.C. representatives were chosen by Congress and the President. Congress has the authority to manage the nation's capital according to Article 1, Section 8, Clause 17 of the Constitution, the bill sponsors said. FOX 5 reached out Monday for interviews on the proposed legislation, but neither Sen. Lee's or Rep. Ogles' offices returned our requests for comment. In a joint statement, Lee said described the 'corruption, crime, and incompetence of the D.C. government' as an 'embarrassment to our nation's capital for decades'. Rep. Ogles' remarks in the joint statement took direct aim at Mayor Bowser. "The radically progressive regime of D.C. Mayor Bowser has left our nation's Capital in crime-ridden shambles." said Rep. Ogles. "Washington is now known for its homicides, rapes, drug overdoses, violence, theft, and and her corrupt Washington City Council are incapable of managing the city. As such, it seems appropriate for Congress to reclaim its Constitutional authority and restore the nation's Capital. The epicenter of not only the UnitedStates Federal Government but also the world geopolitics cannot continue to be a cesspool of Democrats' failed policies." What they're saying Mayor Bowser did not directly respond to the bill being named after her, nor did she address criticism from the bill sponsors. When asked about the significance of Home Rule in D.C., Bowser said Monday, the district's focus remains on becoming the 51st state in the country "I know there's talks about other places being the 51st state, but we're going to be the 51st state. What that means is that we'll be treated just like every other American. Right now, we're not, because we pay taxes. In fact, we pay more taxes than most, because we're larger than two states, but we don't have representation in Congress," she said. She added, residents are witnessing what that means under a new administration. "When important things are being debated like cabinet nominees, we neither have a voice or a vote," she said. "In the House, our congresswoman is a delegate, but she doesn't have a vote. So, we are reminded what it means to be full citizens of this nation and we can only get that through statehood." What's next Home Rule in D.C. has been challenged in the past, according to Prof. Leah Brooks at George Washington University's Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration. It's possible this legislation could get further than it has in the past given Republican majorities in both the House and Senate, Prof. Brooks noted. However, Brooks pointed out the bill currently less than a page long and does not clearly define what happens if Home Rule is repealed. "Basically what happens the legislation says is, we get rid of home rule as it was defined in 1973 by Congress. What it doesn't say is, what happens after that? So, what happens after that?" she questioned. "Do we go back to the Home Rule we had as of 1967 that Lyndon Johnson passed? Do we go back to Congress managing every facet of D.C.? It's hard for me to imagine that Congress wants to become the city council of Washington D.C." It's not immediately clear if other congressmembers have openly supported this bill. The Source The information in this story comes from FOX 5 reporting.
