Numerous American cities have been assaulted by Donald Trump. However, as president, he will only have direct control over one city, Washington, D.C., where local officials are hoping for the best and ready for his anger.
In the capital, Trump’s first term was viewed as an unwanted annoyance, with over 90% of voters consistently rejecting him at the polls and demonstrating against him and his administration.
However, officials in the District of Columbia are afraid of losing their tenuous hold on the limited self-governance they have laboriously gained over decades since Trump has repeatedly pledged to seize control of a city he calls a dirty and crime-ridden embarrassment to our country. This is in anticipation of Trump’s return to the White House.
Washington authorities now only want to maintain their power to choose their own leaders, when not long ago they aspired to complete statehood.
Due to its lack of statehood and full home rule protections, D.C. faces risks from a second Trump presidency, according to Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, the district’s longtime congressional representative with little voting power, who spoke to NBC News. I’ll keep up my defense of D.C. home rule against any potential threats.
If Trump decides to follow through on his pledge to federalize the capital, there won’t be much to stop him. According to the Constitution, the District of Columbia is a federal ward. Congress grants it limited self-government, which the president and Congress may revoke at any time.
For example, Trump could assume control of the Metropolitan Police Department, the city’s local municipal police force, and even the D.C. National Guard with a single stroke of the pen, at least temporarily. Additionally, he might send out more federal law enforcement officers, much like he did in 2020 during the Black Lives Matter demonstrations.
A Republican-controlled Congress has the authority to enforce its own regulations, including possible limitations on abortion, and to overrule ordinances approved by the elected Council of the district. Additionally, Trump and Congress could remove the district’s local autonomy or reinstate a system similar to the Financial Control Board, which oversaw the city’s expenditures in the 1990s.
In the event that the district must defend itself and its principles, we have been debating and organizing for several months. At a news conference the week following Trump’s election, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowsers made this statement.
The mayor, who also served during Trump’s first term, had a history of clashes with him. As a result, she had Black Lives Matter displayed in large yellow letters on a plaza close to the White House, which attracted racial justice demonstrations that Trump put down with federal law enforcement.
However, Bowser adopted a noticeably more accommodative stance in her news conference following this year’s election.
Bowser congratulated President-elect Trump and his staff on their victory on behalf of the city, adding that Washington, D.C., is ready to welcome the new administration. She highlighted areas where Trump and the city can work together and find common ground.
“We are confident in our ability to collaborate with the Trump administration,” she stated.
Getting more federal employees back to work is one of Trump’s priorities, and it would also aid downtown businesses that have been struggling since the COVID outbreak, which would impact the city’s tax base. Bowser and Trump do share certain objectives.
In order to perhaps increase employment and tourists, Trump has also frequently expressed his desire to rehabilitate federal buildings and the city’s extensive property holdings, which include numerous local parks. Additionally, he opposes transferring the FBI headquarters to the suburbs and favors keeping it in downtown D.C.
However, there are far more differences between them than similarities.
Trump stated in a speech last year that he wants to take over the city and that he wouldn’t even call the mayor. He also mentioned that restoring and rebuilding Washington, D.C., is a key component of his presidential program.
Project 2025 urges Congress to use its power over the district to force it to relocate federal agencies outside of Washington, something Trump attempted to do during his first term, and to override the district’s legislation permitting physician-assisted death.
When asked about his plans for the capital city, Karoline Leavitt, a spokesperson for the Trump transition who was appointed White House press secretary, responded that President Trump was re-elected by a resounding mandate from the American people to overturn the status quo in Washington. He has therefore appointed intelligent and well-respected outsiders to his administration, and he will continue to support them in their battle against anyone attempting to thwart the MAGA agenda.
For more than ten years, Republicans in Congress have micromanaged D.C. through so-called riders attached to spending bills. One such rider stopped the city from establishing a legal marijuana market after voters approved the notion in a referendum more than ten years ago.
Reproductive rights organizations are now concerned that the Republican trifecta may target abortion rights in the city because they are no longer protected by the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade ruling.
And if they so desired, they could go much beyond.
Only since the D.C. Home Rule Act was passed in the 1970s has Washington had a government chosen by its citizens; however, this might be changed by a comparable congressional act.
The Congress has the power to alter the District’s home rule. They might. During her news conference, Bowser stated that it is feasible.
As the city battled the crack epidemic in 1995, Democratic President Bill Clinton signed legislation establishing a federal oversight board for the city following a wave election that saw Republicans take control of the House for the first time in decades. On a daily basis, the five-member District of Columbia Financial Control Board had the authority to oversee how the city spent the money it collected from residents through taxes and to overrule decisions made by the mayor and the D.C. Council.
Only in 2001, following four consecutive balanced budgets, did the Control body step down, and now city officials fear that Trump and congressional Republicans may exploit crime or other issues to justify the installation of a similar control body.
However, Norton is particularly worried about the city’s police department, which the president can federalize for up to 30 days in an emergency under the Home Rule Act. A resolution to prolong the president’s term in office can then be passed by Congress.
According to Norton, who has frequently presented proposals to try to modify the law to keep the local police local, Trump pondered federalizing the D.C. police force for his personal interests during his first term as president. The people who live in the district must be the D.C. Police’s first priority and duty.
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