WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump’s first stint in the White House proved to be a chaotic ride for the District of Columbia.
With Trump poised to return to power — buoyed by a Republican-controlled Congress and the momentum of a landslide election victory — local officials in the nation’s capital are trying to sound conciliatory as they prepare for the worst.
“We have spent months discussing and planning in case the district needs to defend itself and its values,” said Mayor Muriel Bowser. Her office had “communicated with (Trump’s) team and indicated we would like to speak,” she said on Nov. 12, but had not yet heard back.
Bowser downplayed the numerous differences between the two sides and emphasized finding common ground. But those similarities may be difficult to find, given the open mutual animosity that has defined Trump’s relationship with the district.
During Trump’s turbulent first four years in office, he and the local government spoke publicly several times — in tones ranging from playful to deeply personal. When Trump floated the idea of a massive military parade on 4th of July complete with tanks roll through the streets, the DC Council publicly mocked him.
When mass protests broke out in the summer of 2020 over the death of George Floyd and broader police brutality and racial issues, Trump accused Bowser of losing control of her city. eventually declaring his own lockdown of multiple instances, including low-flying helicopters buzzing protesters. Bowser responded by having “Black Lives Matter” painted in giant letters on the street a block from the White House.
Over the past four years, with Trump as an aggrieved citizen, his feelings toward Washington have remained intense. During his campaign, he repeatedly promised to “take over” the city and usurp the authority of local government. In August 2023, as he briefly came to town to plead not guilty to charges of trying to overturn his 2020 election loss to President Joe Biden, Trump criticized the capital on social media, calling it a “filthy and crime-ridden disgrace for our nation. .”
Now Bowser and the DC Council are preparing for what could be several years of defense against adversaries who wield significant power over Washington’s affairs.
“We just have to do our best and persevere for a few more years. We have to figure out how to make it work,” said Councilmember Christina Henderson. “Unlike millions of voters across the country, I actually believe the man when he speaks. He has said what he is going to do.”
Henderson, a former aide to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., points out that Trump has already experienced what she called “the trifecta” — Republican control of the White House and both houses of Congress — during his first two years in office . office and the neighborhood managed to get through. She also notes that Republican control of the House of Representatives will be up for grabs again in just two years.
“I can’t predict what they’re going to do to us,” she said. “I can prepare to respond.”
But responding to the intentions of an antagonistic White House and Congress is difficult, given the nature of the district’s limited autonomy. Under the terms of the city’s Home Rule authority, Congress essentially controls all DC laws and can overturn them outright.
Even as Trump left the White House, activist Republicans on the House Oversight Committee repeatedly summoned Bowser and members of the D.C. Council — often to publicly grill them about local crime rates.
And by far the most extensive modern encroachment by Congress on district authority occurred when Democrats controlled both the Senate and the White House. In 2023, a major rewrite of the criminal code was labeled as soft on crime by House Republicans; In a major setback for the council, both Senate Democrats and President Biden agreed and the law was effectively repealed.
“We know the district can always be a convenient enemy for some of these people,” said Councilman Charles Allen. “Without a state, without autonomy, our laws will always be more at risk than any other American.”
Both council members are predicting a wave of annual appropriations bill spending — intended to change district laws in ways big and small. These riders have long been a source of resentment for local lawmakers, who accuse members of Congress of tinkering with the district in ways they could never get away with at home.
“They want to do something for the district because they think they can. They would never do that to their own state,” Allen said.
He highlights the infamous “Harris rider” named after Maryland Rep. Andy Harris. Harris, a staunch opponent of legalized marijuana, has used a budget rider for years to prevent local government from creating a regulatory framework to tax or control sales. Meanwhile, Maryland has since legalized recreational marijuana use.
“He can’t implement it in his home state, but he can implement it with us,” Allen said.
Last year’s appropriations bill initially included passengers that would have banned all traffic cameras in the nation’s capital and barred the county government from making right turns at red lights. Those proposals ultimately faded during the negotiating process, but Allen believes that the incoming Congress “will not have Democrats in the same position to help negotiate away many of the most objectionable budget riders.”
Other Republicans in Congress have tried to make more fundamental changes in the way Washington operates. Rep. Andrew Clyde of Georgia has proposed repealing the Home Rule Act entirely, while Rep. Andy Ogles of Tennessee has publicly discussed abolishing the office of mayor of DC. Neither Ogles nor Clyde’s office responded to Associated Press requests for comment on their future intentions.
Despite the looming battles, Bowser’s search for common ground with Trump and Republicans in Congress may not be entirely hopeless. Bowser vetoed the rewrite of the criminal code, but was overruled by the DC Council; her opposition was often cited by Republicans in Congress as evidence of how far the council had strayed from mainstream Democratic policy.
And Bowser, Trump and Republicans in Congress have been in agreement for years on one specific issue: the need to end telework after the pandemic and bring all federal workers back to their offices five days a week. She said she looked forward to talking to Trump about it.
