D.C. is celebrating 50 years of home rule. Here comes Trump.
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Former council member Carol Schwartz hits the dance floor. Photo: Cuneyt Dil/Axios
Local power brokers and electeds turned out at Union Market last week to fête the 50th anniversary of D.C. home rule. And what timing.
Why it matters: Before Congress granted them home rule, the president of the United States appointed the mayor; Congress oversaw public schools; unelected commissioners managed trash pickup, traffic laws and all manner of municipal business.
- Two generations later, President-elect Trump's vow to "take over our horribly run" capital city is producing an existential crisis.
Inside the room: There was dread — a lot of it — about whether Trump II will really take away their power. And cautious optimism for some common ground.
The scene: There were council members of past and present, Marion Barry's lieutenants, budget geeks, ghosts of bygone scandals, civil rights firebrands, the city's attorney general. Go-go, of course, but also a red carpet.
- This is a parochial political world, overshadowed by the federal bureaucracy. But its operators run the nation's capital — they built landmarks like Nationals Park, rejuvenated neighborhoods, and aspire to have two senators and, someday, statehood.
You happy for 50 years of home rule? "Yeah, 50th and last," joked David Meadows, a veteran of the Wilson Building.
Threat level: Many worried Trump's first target would be the Metropolitan Police Department. He tried taking it over in 2020.
- Even if the home rule law isn't chipped away, a GOP Congress will scratch at liberal D.C. priorities. Rep. Nancy Mace wants to regulate how transgender people use bathrooms in buildings owned by the D.C. government, which can extend to schools.
"We have a helluva unique problem, because Congress controls the budget," said Pierpont Mobley, holding court in a pinstripe suit and Comma La hat. A Republican-controlled legislature could act like a super city council — picking and choosing what the District spends money on.
- Jeannette Mobley, the other half of the Northeast power duo, grabbed my arm: "D.C. is resilient and we have wonderful people here. He" — meaning 45/47 — "needs to respect that."
"Personally, I think he has bigger fish to fry," Charles Wilson, leader of the D.C. Democratic Party, told me. Still, the party's hosting strategizing sessions.
There isn't panic: "No one's crying," said Sam Rosen-Amy, a legislative staffer, sipping a plastic cup of white wine. "Well, maybe not yet."
Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, who at 87 will begin her 18th term, took the stage: "Let's not despair. Let's get to work."
Zoom in: As the "Da' Butt" thumped, shaking the auditorium's glass doors, I found D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson outside, deep in conversation with Council member Matt Frumin. "The mayor and I have already had several conversations about how we can present a more unified front" against Republicans, Mendelson told me.
- He didn't elaborate. But there's recent history of Congress driving a wedge between the lefty council and moderate mayor.
- Frumin jumped in: "It's got to be a goal for us to stick together." Mendo cupid shuffled back indoors.
Jack Evans, the contrarian, gladhanded. "Home rule will not be affected at all," he proclaimed, passing the bar. "And I'm the only person who you'll get to say this, everyone else is…" (he asked me to keep the rest off the record).
- Evans posited Trump "would work with the city" to keep the FBI building, not move it to Prince George's County.
But a few steps away, Gregory McCarthy, who advised former Mayor Anthony Williams, sniffed at Evans' age-old idea to move the FBI to Poplar Point, a site by the Anacostia River that the District wants to redevelop into houses and shops:
- "Poplar Point is premier riverfront space. You don't put a campus with a 20-foot security wall in it."
Carol Schwartz, the D.C. Council's last Republican, sauntered off the dance floor: "I just hope that he'll do other things and leave us alone," she said of Trump. "I don't want to worry about it today. I want to celebrate the 50 years of limited home rule we do have."
Ron Moten, who's opening the Go-Go Museum in Anacostia, reflected on Mayor Bowser's predicament with Trump: "He don't like the mayor.
- "But with a lot of people like Trump, if you sit down and kiss the ring, anything can change," he added. "I wouldn't say it's over."
As the music was winding down, Yvette Alexander, the garrulous former council member, said she tries to attend every inauguration. This year won't be any different. "I'll wear purple" — not red or blue.
- "If Donald Trump wants someone to oversee D.C., I'm more than happy to do it!" she howled with laughter.
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