House Republicans Look To Repeal DC Home Rule
Image courtesy of GovTech
By Patrick D. Lewis
Since 1973, the District of Columbia has enjoyed “home rule,” the system that allows DC residents to elect their mayor and city council who make laws and administer most basic services and neighborhood programs across the city. House Republicans are looking to change that with a bill introduced in Congress called the Bringing Oversight to Washington and Safety for Every Resident (BOWSER) Act.
The bill, the acronym of which spells the last name of DC Mayor Muriel Bowser, has led to fears among DC residents of the federal “takeover” of the District. President Trump floated the concept during his campaign and has doubled down on it since taking office. The bill is sponsored by Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) in the Senate and Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN) in the House.
“We should govern DC. The federal government should take over the governance of DC,” Trump said. “And run it really, really properly.”
Mayor Bowser has been treading a fine line with respect to the president, criticizing GOP efforts to revoke DC home rule while expressing optimism in other areas. Bowser, in a statement to NBC 4, criticized the Trump administration for an “illogical” approach to cutting federal spending. The mayor also said that “we all have to hold the administration to account.” The comments come in the wake of massive, and seemingly in discriminate, spending cuts to a wide variety of federal government agencies. The cuts, which came at the suggestion of Elon Musk and his DOGE agents, have sparked widespread controversy and have affected some district agencies already.
Recently, she has shared the belief that her government can work alongside Trump and his newly-appointed U.S. Attorney for DC, Edward R. Martin, Jr., to lower crime in the city. Martin has vowed tougher prosecution for violent crimes and wants the city to hold violent juvenile offenders more accountable.
Diego Rojas, the D.C. Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner for Catholic University, explained in a written statement why he supports the movement to repeal DC home rule.
“Washington, D.C.’s local leadership—primarily the Mayor and the Council—has transformed our nation’s capital into a symbol of homelessness, poverty, and violence rather than the shining city on a hill it was meant to be,” said Rojas. “There is no reason why the capital of the most powerful nation on earth should not also be the best city in the world.” He went on to say that the 1973 Home Rule Act is to blame for the city’s downturn in some respects.
“The U.S. Constitution is clear: Congress has exclusive legislative authority over the District (Article I, Section 8, Clause 17). There is no constitutional basis for Home Rule; in fact, one could argue that it directly contradicts the Framers’ intent,” Rojas continued. “Congress has both the duty and the responsibility to ensure that our nation’s capital is governed effectively, free from the incompetence that has plagued local leadership for decades.”
At this time, it is not clear when the House might take up consideration of the bill.
