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Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser faced a skeptical House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Thursday, as she sought to highlight progress on public safety and defend the District’s autonomy amid escalating Republican intervention.
Bowser, appearing with D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson and Attorney General Brian Schwalb, said violent crime has fallen 53% since 2023, citing both city initiatives and President Donald Trump’s federal law enforcement surge after he invoked emergency powers to federalize the Metropolitan Police Department in August.
“When I was last here, I explained how we would drive down those trends, and it is working,” Bowser told lawmakers. “Despite budget cuts and workforce reductions, the state of the District is strong.”
GOP doubts and scrutiny
Republicans questioned whether the city’s crime statistics were reliable, pointing to ongoing investigations by both the committee and the Justice Department.
“Are you guys cooking the books?” Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, asked Mendelson. The head of the D.C. Police Union has also cast doubt on the figures.
Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., took a different view, saying he felt safer in the city thanks to increased arrests and the National Guard presence. “There’s a record low crime rate,” Gosar said.
Congress holds sweeping authority over the District, and Republicans have been quick to exercise it. The House this week passed four bills overriding local laws to expand police powers, lower the age threshold for youth offenders, and eliminate a commission advising on judicial nominations. Democrats blasted the measures as an assault on home rule.
“We are a city under siege,” Mendelson said. “It is frustrating to watch this committee debate and vote on 14 bills regarding the District without a single public hearing, with no input from District officials or the public.”
Norton’s seat in play
The hearing unfolded against a backdrop of political upheaval for D.C.’s longtime nonvoting delegate in Congress, Eleanor Holmes Norton.
Norton, 88, has brushed aside calls to retire after former DNC Chair Donna Brazile urged her to step aside in a Washington Post op-ed this week. But a growing field of challengers is emerging, with at-large Councilmember Robert White announcing his candidacy moments after the hearing ended.
“She has been a lion for D.C.,” White said of Norton. “But right now, D.C. is more vulnerable than we have ever been. We need someone who can fight right now.”
White previously worked as Norton’s legislative counsel and mounted a competitive mayoral primary challenge against Bowser in 2022. His entry sets up what could be the most competitive Democratic primary for delegate in decades.
Other prospective candidates include Kinney Zalesne, a former Justice Department official, Jacque Patterson of the D.C. State Board of Education, and Deirdre Brown, chair of the Ward 3 Democrats.
“We only have one seat in this entire body,” White said. “The person in that seat has to be our best fighter.”
