Mayor Muriel Bowser instead wants the District of Columbia to become the 51st state.
WASHINGTON—Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser spoke out on Feb. 20 against President Donald Trump’s suggestion that the federal government should assume control of the city she governs.
“Of course, it’s frustrating, and we think it’s also wrong,” Bowser said at a press conference.
Bowser’s response comes one day after Trump’s comments, made amid criticisms of the high rate of crime, graffiti, and homelessness in the United States’ capital city.
“I think we should take over Washington, D.C. … I think that we should run it strong, run it with law and order, make it flawlessly beautiful,” he told reporters on Air Force One on Feb. 19.
The District of Columbia is currently governed by the mayor and its City Council, whose legislative and budget decisions are subject to the oversight of Congress. This form of government was established by the Home Rule Act, passed in 1973.
To wrest control of the city from the mayor would take another act of Congress. On Feb. 6, Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) introduced legislation to do just that.
Related Stories
The Bringing Oversight to Washington and Safety to Every Resident