Opinion

Truth be told, DC home rule has been a hot mess since Congress approved it in December 1973. Residents may have acquired the right to elect a mayor, city council and advisory neighborhood commissioners. However, the DC Home Rule Act as…

Earlier this week, moments before the DC Council began debating its massive $22 billion Fiscal Year 2026 Budget and Financial Plan, members took their first vote on comprehensive housing legislation known as the “Rebalancing Expectations…

Typically, at this time of year, it’s mostly crickets around the John A. Wilson Building: the DC Council has recessed, and its members have scattered to their various vacation spots. However, deep into July, Chair Phil Mendelson is facing…

There seemed to be exuberance around the DC Council’s first vote to approve an amended version of Mayor Muriel Bowser’s $22 billion Fiscal Year 2026 Budget and Financial Plan. The legislature’s changes, as expected, included restoring…

The DC Council met earlier this week for its third administrative meeting in as many weeks. Chair Phil Mendelson had called members together to focus, yet again, on reconfiguring Mayor Muriel Bowser’s $22 billion Fiscal Year 2026 Budget…

“The whole dynamic is pretty toxic,” declared one of nearly a dozen DC political and government insiders who agreed to speak with me for this article. Their names were withheld so that they could speak candidly about behind-the-scenes…

“The District confronts daunting financial headwinds,” wrote Ward 3 DC Councilmember Matt Frumin in his Committee on Human Services report, which contained a number of recommended changes to Mayor Muriel Bowser’s $22 billion Fiscal Year…

Sometimes two or more things may seem quite different at first look — and yet they are actually similar at their core or derived from the same kind of thinking. Juxtapose, for example, President Donald Trump’s decision in February…

Oct. 1, 2025, may go down as some sort of health care D-Day in DC. By some estimates more than 50,000 residents who are currently enrolled in Medicaid, the DC Health Care Alliance or below-market Affordable Care Act coverage through the DC…

At first blush, it’s easy to be content with the fact that Mayor Muriel Bowser and her team, including City Administrator Kevin Donahue and Budget Director Jenny Reed, managed to avoid layoffs and furloughs during this current fiscal year…

DC youth need secure housing so they can spend their time, attention and energy on building their futures — not merely surviving. Youth experiencing homelessness are full of potential, dreams and aspirations. However, due to circumstances…

Mayor Muriel Bowser has pledged to include in her proposed Fiscal Year 2026 Budget and Financial Plan the repeal of Initiative 82, the citizen ballot measure that has wreaked havoc on the restaurant and hospitality industry. Even if…

DC Mayor Muriel Bowser seems to have ramped up her game lately, broadening her vision for the District’s future while attempting to stabilize its finances and increase private-sector investments. Last week, she unveiled a $3.7…

Most personal purchases today happen with a quick swipe or tap of a credit or debit card. It’s fast, convenient and safe — thanks to massive investments in fraud protection and secure payment networks. But now, that system is under threat…

It seemed a Dickensian moment in DC — not the famous Tale of Two Cities, but rather a variation with one city simultaneously experiencing two seemingly opposing financial challenges. Or maybe it’s more aptly described as “déjà vu all over…

The struggle for DC’s autonomy has never been more urgent, as federal-level attacks destabilize our local government and stall our local budget process. President Donald Trump’s slashing of federal jobs and vital programs is causing pain…

Five months after DC voters approved the “Make All Votes Count DC” ballot initiative that could bring semi-open primaries and the controversial practice of ranked choice voting to the nation’s capital, the DC Board of Elections has finally…

“Be careful what you ask for” is an adage that Mayor Muriel Bowser, DC Council Chair Phil Mendelson and other elected officials ought to have pondered in recent days while pushing for the U.S. House of Representatives to vote on the…

When people lose jobs and income, stress levels rise — and for individuals with a history of controlling or abusive behavior, that can become a catalyst for violence. We’ve seen it after every economic downturn and most recently in very…

In the last few weeks, the DC Council, led by Chair Phil Mendelson, has considered at least two legislative proposals that seem to deliberately diminish the agency and influence of District residents in their government, despite the fact…