Leaders in Washington, D.C., condemned a Republican-led continuing resolution that would cut the district’s 2025 budget by 16%.
House Republicans announced their stopgap bill to fund the federal government on Saturday that included cutting the district’s budget by approximately $1 billion. Speaking outside the Capitol at a press conference, Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser, District of Columbia Council Chairman Phil Mendelson, and other Washington officials warned of the possible consequences of the bill.
“House Republicans released the text of a continuing resolution this weekend that commits nothing less than fiscal sabotage of D.C. It is their latest blow in an escalating war on D.C., D.C. residents, and the limited home rule D.C. currently possesses,” Norton said.
She warned that the district could be forced to cut services for the district’s police, emergency medical services, and schools.
“It is contrary to the stated Republican goal of improving public safety, law and order in the nation’s capital, and would in fact have the opposite effect. D.C. has not been treated as a federal agency for funding purposes in more than 20 years precisely because Republicans of a different generation recognized the disastrous effects this causes. Congress should keep its hands off D.C.,” she added.
Bowser described the bill as a “potentially devastating and really highly unusual situation.”
“We are not a federal agency. We are a city, county, state, all at once, and we provide direct services to the people of the District of Columbia, visitors to the District of Columbia, businesses in the District of Columbia, diplomats and visiting heads of state and everyone who works here in the Congress. Our budget was balanced and approved,” she said.
Bowser then made an appeal to President Donald Trump, saying the bill would go against his wishes.
“This action, let me be clear, if the Congress goes through with this action, it will work against a priority that President Trump and I share, and that is to make Washington, D.C., the best, most beautiful city in the world, and we want to work with our partners in the federal government to ensure that D.C. always represents the strength and prosperity of this country,” she said.
STOPGAP FUNDING BILL WOULD CUT DC BUDGET BY $1 BILLION
Bowser has undertaken several moves favorable to Trump in recent weeks, helping to soften his views on the district. Her moderation has led to him shelving a floated executive order to end Washington’s home rule.
The district has faced financial problems over the past few years as COVID-19 relief funds dried up. The district faces a $1 billion deficit over the next four years, further complicated by the looming CR.
