Trump, Congress and city council: Managing relationships, DC’s mayor walks a tightrope

By ASHRAF KHALIL
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser drew a laugh from the room when she was asked how it feels to manage a mercurial relationship with the White House and Congress — while, by the way, also trying to run a city of 700,000 people.

“It is just like you might imagine,” she deadpanned. “It’s tricky.”

A few hours after that comment Monday, Bowser’s balancing act with President Donald Trump was on public display. She appeared with Trump to celebrate Washington being named as host for the 2027 NFL draft and maintained a poker face while Trump talked at length about immigration.

Bowser also continues to lobby the House of Representatives to pass a simple fix that would prevent the nation’s capital from having to immediately cut $400 million from its 2025 budget in the middle of the budget year. The House essentially created the shortfall earlier this year when it eliminated a little-known provision in a budget resolution. The change would force the District of Columbia to immediately revert to its 2024 budget parameters.

And while the Senate immediately passed a simple fix, the House has failed to bring that measure up for a vote during four weeks in session — despite it being publicly endorsed by Trump. Bowser has warned that layoffs, furloughs and service cuts could be coming — and within days — if the issue isn’t resolved.

Showdown looms between DC mayor and council

Now Bowser’s relationship with the D.C. Council is coming under public stress. The third-term mayor faces a looming showdown with the council over a host of budget issues and her new deal to bring the NFL’s Washington Commanders back to the nation’s capital.

Citing the uncertainty surrounding the 2025 budget, Bowser has delayed submitting a proposed 2026 budget to the council by more than a month. But D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson has publicly complained that Bowser is dragging out the process.

“We can’t wait longer to start making the service reductions and cuts,” Mendelson said Monday of the 2025 budget cuts. “She has to move forward now.”

Bowser maintains she is following the proper timeline and protocol required by the city’s chief financial officer. But Mendelson contends that Bowser was using the delay to “jam the council” and force it into a pressurized deadline where city legislators wouldn’t have time to properly question either the budget or the particulars of the Commanders agreement.

Debate expected on stadium deal

That stadium deal should prompt a robust debate when it comes up for D.C. Council approval. When it was first announced, Mendelson said he didn’t think it had enough votes to pass. But different members of the 12-person body have staked out widely varied initial positions.

First-term Ward 5 Councilmember Zachary Parker called the chance to bring football back to the nation’s capital and revitalize the site of the old RFK Stadium “a once in a generation opportunity.”

Parker said he believed the deal would and should pass; he simply wants to make sure the city gets the best deal possible.

But veteran Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen has taken a harder public line. He says he opposes the entire concept of a stadium — especially if any significant amount of public money is spent on the project.

“I don’t think a stadium returns back the economic investment. Every study under the sun shows that,” Allen said last week at a public meeting to rally opposition to the stadium deal. “You can love football and love the Commanders and still think this is a bad deal for the city.”