Latest news with #HomeRuleActof1973
Washington Post
22-04-2025
- Business
- Washington Post
DC weighs layoffs and other cuts as House Republicans leave the city budget in limbo
WASHINGTON — Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser tried to keep the focus on a groundbreaking ceremony for a new mixed-used development. But she couldn't help fielding a string of questions about the budget crisis hanging over the nation's capital city. Asked Monday about the risk of layoffs and furloughs, she said: 'We're hoping that we don't get to that stage. If it comes to that, I can assure employees that they will be treated fairly … and I want to emphasize to them that this is not something that the D.C. government has done wrong and is not a case where we don't have the money.' Bowser and the District of Columbia Council are scrambling to address the crisis created by the Republican-controlled House of Representatives. When Congress recessed April 10, it adjourned without addressing a $1.1 billion hole in the city's 2025 budget that was created when the House eliminated a little-known provision in a budget resolution. The Senate proposed a simple fix that was publicly endorsed by President Donald Trump . But the House failed for three weeks to bring the fix up for a vote. 'I can only tell you how frustrating it is right now,' Bowser said last week. 'We believed that the fix would happen, and we wouldn't be running around planning for cuts.' The situation reflects the city's unique relationship with Congress. The Constitution gives federal lawmakers authority over the District of Columbia, while the Home Rule Act of 1973 lets residents elect a mayor, a council and neighborhood commissioners. But Congress maintains significant control, including approving the budget and all laws passed by the D.C. Council. The office of House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, did not respond to questions on the budget. The House returns Monday. A White House official contacted by The Associated Press reiterated that Trump's position has been made clear, publicly and privately, to House Republicans. Bowser's government is unveiling a series of preliminary belt-tightening steps. A mayoral order last week established a spending freeze that paused all new hires, promotions, bonuses and new contracts. A freeze on all overtime starts Sunday. That includes police officers, although the Metropolitan Police Department — which relies heavily on overtime hours — may apply for a waiver. Bowser also has invoked a 2009 law allowing the city to increase spending by 6%, shrinking the shortfall to $410 million. The office of the city administrator has been given a Friday deadline to present Bowser with a detailed plan for layoffs, furloughs and the closure of city facilities. Bowser has spent months walking a public tightrope between her elected responsibilities and the demands of Trump and congressional Republicans. It's a challenge observers say is unique in American urban governance. 'People say being mayor of New York City is the toughest job in the country, and I'm like, hell no, it ain't,' said Cliff Albright, executive director and co-founder of Black Voters Matter. 'The toughest job is being mayor of D.C. because you've got all the constraints that every other city has. But you've got some extra constraints that no other city has to deal with.' Bowser and Trump had a tense relationship during his first term. Now she is trying to work with the Republican leader, repeatedly emphasizing what she calls their 'shared priorities.' She cleared homeless encampments after Trump's complaints and ordered the dismantling of Black Lives Matter Plaza amid pressure from congressional Republicans. Bowser acknowledged that her move on BLM Plaza would be unpopular among many voters. But she has publicly cast her current challenge in stark terms, suggesting that one of her biggest responsibilities is helping Washington maintain what autonomy it can while delivering residents the services they deserve. With hundreds of thousands of federal employees expected to lose their jobs, Bowser said her focus must be on 'making sure our residents and our economy survive.' Bowser said she believed voters would trust her judgement as she navigated the second Trump administration. 'They want us to be smart and strategic and get to the other side, and that's my job,' she said. Phil Mendelson, D.C. Council chairman, said that while he would not have removed Black Lives Matter Plaza the way Bowser did, he sympathized with her position. 'The mayor is trying to find ways to minimize conflict with the administration, and unfortunately there's a need for that,' he said. At-large council member Christina Henderson said the mayor and city officials must consider wider impacts at a time when Republicans control Congress and the White House, leaving the city minimal leverage and few options. 'They can always take away home rule,' she said. 'Then where will we be?' Unless the House restores the funding, Bowser has to come up with a supplemental budget to go into effect in the summer when the city 'is getting ready to host the FIFA Club World Cup games, World Pride, the Fourth of July, and president now wants his military parade ,' Henderson said. 'Who's staffing that if I don't have money to do overtime?' The budget issue also has rekindled public calls for D.C. statehood. Anne Stauffer, vice president for issues and advocacy of the League of Women Voters of the District of Columbia, said the situation has placed the city's lack of basic autonomy in clear focus. 'We have a lot of empathy for all the choices that our elected leaders have to make given the sort of anti-democratic system that we're under,' Stauffer said. The remedy, she said, is statehood: 'States control their budgets.' Some Bowser critics contend that she's been too quick to surrender in the face of pressure from Trump and congressional Republicans. Bowser 'doesn't have to be so complicit,' said NeeNee Taylor, co-founder of Harriet's Wildest Dreams, an activist group against police overreach. Taylor also said that D.C. statehood has become a nonissue and that city leaders and activists should focus on more immediate forms of resistance against encroachments on local autonomy. 'Right now we have to stop the grabbing of the power,' Taylor said. 'That's what should be the message now instead of just yelling out, 'Statehood.''
Miami Herald
14-03-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Could DC merge with Maryland? Congressman proposes an escape from ‘MAGA colonialism'
Could the nation's capital ever become part of another state? That's what Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) suggested on a March 10 episode of the City Cast DC podcast as he discussed Congress' move to swiftly slash the district's budget. 'I saw (Washington, D.C.) Mayor (Muriel) Bowser and I said, 'If you guys want to think about coming back to Maryland for this period, you will definitely be safer in the free state then you'll be under the brutal thumb of MAGA colonialism,'' Raskin said during the episode. His comments come as a federal funding bill passed in the House of Representatives calls for a $1.1 billion cut to the district's 2025 budget, the Associated Press reported. The cut would not save the federal government any money, according to a memo from the district's local government shared by WJLA. President Donald Trump has also made comments to reporters saying he wants to 'take over' the governing of the nation's capital, the Associated Press reported in February. The suggestion of joining Maryland was popular among Washington D.C. residents, according to a survey of 1,243 Axios D.C. readers on March 12. The survey found 82% of respondents supported the idea while 18% said they wanted Trump to take over the local government, Axios reported in its March 13 newsletter. Could Washington, D.C. rejoin Maryland? Just like most major government initiatives in the district, the merger would require approval from Congress. The Republican-dominated Congress would need to pass the measure through both the House and Senate, which may be unlikely as Trump says he wants the federal government to have more power over the capital. However, this is not the first time a Washington, D.C.-Maryland merger has been brought up in this decade. A bill introduced by Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-SD) in 2021 suggested the majority of the district be given back to Maryland. Washington, D.C. statehood similarly would require passage through Congress. A 2021 bill to admit the district as the 51st state passed through the House most recently in 2021 but has sat idle in the Senate for years. Statehood could additionally require a constitutional amendment, according to the Ohio State Law Journal. Local voters last voted on a referendum for statehood in 2016 where 79% were in favor of statehood, NPR reported. Washington, D.C.'s history with Maryland Washington D.C. used to belong to its two neighbors — Maryland and Virginia — until the land was ceded by the states in 1790 to form the nation's capital. Then In 1847, the part of the city that was once Virginia was retroceded back, according to Throughout the past two centuries, residents have continuously pushed to give the district more governance over itself, separate from the federal government, according to the Council of the District of Columbia. The Home Rule Act of 1973, which was enacted by Congress and ratified by District voters, allows a 13-member council — including a chairman — to be elected that oversees local affairs, according to the council's website. Washington D.C. has two statehood senators and one representative that lobby Congress, but they do not have voting power, per the council. The Senate is currently considering the federal spending bill, which if passed would lead to the $1.1 billion cut to D.C.'s local budget. The bill needs to pass before 11:59 p.m. on March 14 to avoid a government shutdown, USA Today reported.
Yahoo
22-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bowser continues to push back on Trump's call for federal government to take over DC
The Brief President Donald Trump on Thursday said he believes the federal government should take over D.C. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser responded saying that statehood is a solution to the problem. Bowser says that as long as DC has limited home rule, city will be vulnerable to the whims Congress or a president WASHINGTON - D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser is continuing to push back against calls for a federal takeover of the District — now backed by President Donald Trump — by making the case for the District of Columbia to become the 51st state. "The question for us is how do we maintain the pathway to the 51st state," Bowser said. "We're Americans. We pay taxes. We go to war. We have all the responsibilities of citizenship but we don't have all of the rights." This isn't a new push for the mayor but it is a direct rebuff of President Trump's statement from earlier this week, saying that he supports a bill brought forth by two Republican senators that would strip D.C. of its autonomy. The backstory Two Republican lawmakers introduced the "Bringing Oversight to Washington and Safety to Every Resident (BOWSER) Act back on Feb. 6. also seeking to overturn home rule. Similar legislation failed to pass back in 2023. The Home Rule Act of 1973 — hard-fought legislation — is what lets residents of D.C. elect the mayor and council but with limited power because the president, along with congress, can overturn district laws. But the president says D.C. isn't doing enough when it comes to crime and homelessness, though data from the district and the metropolitan police department shows violent crime at the lowest rate in three decades. "I like the mayor. I get along great with the mayor but they're not doing the job," Trump said, speaking to the press on Air Force One Wednesday night. "Too much crime, too much graffiti, too many tents on the lawns. Magnificent lawns and tents." What She's Saying At the National Press Club Friday, Mayor Bowser also called for reduction in the federal workforce to be done in an orderly and humane way, saying there are roughly 600,000 federal workers in the region, with about 70,000 of them being D.C. residents. "Our focus is on being supportive of our residents and calling on our government to not use a chainsaw but figure out which jobs we need and which jobs we don't," she said. The mayor went on to say there are shared priorities between the feds and local D.C. government, including lowering crime and beautification. She said she had reached out to the White House following these latest comments. It's not clear if she's heard back yet.
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
'We should take over': Trump backs GOP push to have federal government control DC
The Brief President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the federal government should 'take over' Washington, D.C. It's in line with a bill introduced by two Republican lawmakers earlier this month that would strip the District of its autonomy. Under the Home Rule Act of 1973, the city can elect its own mayor and council but Congress vets and can overturn its laws. WASHINGTON - Speaking from Air Force One Wednesday night, President Donald Trump said the federal government should "take over" D.C. He complained about crime and homelessness in the District and said that the federal government would "make it safe." "I think we should take over Washington, D.C.," Trump said. "I think that we should govern District of Columbia." Under terms of the city's Home Rule authority, Congress already controls D.C. laws and has the power to overturn them but some congressional Republicans have sought to go further, eroding decades of the city's limited autonomy and putting it back under direct federal control, as it was at its founding. The backstory Utah Senator Mike Lee and Tennessee Representative Andy Ogles introduced a bill earlier this month aimed at stripping D.C. of its ability to govern itself. The bill is named the"Bringing Oversight to Washington and Safety to Every Resident (BOWSER) Act" — a categorical strike on D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, who has been at the center of ire among Republicans who have criticized the way the city is run. Lee and Ogles have historically been critical of Bowser and the D.C. Council. In a statement announcing the bill, Ogles wrote "Washington is now known for its homicides, rapes, drug overdoses, violence, theft, and homelessness. Bowser 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 corruption, crime, and incompetence of the D.C. government has been an embarrassment to our nation's capital for decades," said Lee. "It is long past time that Congress restored the honor and integrity of George Washington to the beautiful city which bears his name." Trump said he likes Bowser personally, but complained about the city's governance. "They're not doing the job," Trump said. "Too much crime, too much — too many tents on the lawns — these magnificent lawns." He argued that he can't have sights of homelessness when he hosts foreign leaders in Washington. "You just can't let that happen," Trump said. "You can't have tents on all your beautiful — your once magnificent plaza and lawns." Dig deeper The D.C. Home Rule Act of 1973 allows the city to elect its own mayor and council. It's also allowed for D.C. to choose Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners to handle community concerns. Congress still maintains control over D.C., including the ability to review all local legislation and appoint the city's judges. D.C. has no voting member in Congress, though it has a nonvoting Delegate. The Source FOX 5 DC reporting, the Associated Press
