Get to know DC delegate candidate Trent Holbrook

I am running for Congress as the only candidate with a record of leadership and success on the legislative priorities critical to D.C. residents.

For the past eight years, I served in legislative roles for Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, including as Senior Legislative Counsel, where I led progress on D.C. statehood, D.C. home rule, and issues facing federal employees. I was the chief strategist who took the D.C. statehood bill from losing in 1993 to passing in the House of Representatives twice — securing record support and a unanimous Democratic vote the second time.

My public service career extends beyond Congress. I previously served in the Executive Branch of the federal government, including working at AmeriCorps to defend the agency from Republican congressional attempts to eliminate its funding. This comprehensive background, which includes time as a legal intern in the Obama White House Counsel’s Office, gives me the unparalleled expertise needed to fight for D.C.’s complex federal issues. I am an alumnus of the Georgetown University Law Center, Austin College, and Oxford University.

My top priorities will be D.C. statehood and D.C. home rule, defending federal employees, and affordability. I helped guide the D.C. statehood bill to passing in the House twice, garnering a record number of cosponsors and 100+ national organizations endorsing the bill along the way. I fought the record number of anti-home rule attacks we faced during this time. I was a federal employee, and I fought their illegal firings, to have them hired back, with backpay, to give them pay raises, and to improve retirement benefits. I will use my experience to lower costs with my detailed affordability plan.

I led the fights in Congress, working shoulder-to-shoulder with Congresswoman Norton, for the past eight years defending our home rule, including while serving as her Senior Legislative Counsel. I fought every anti-home rule attack in Congress and from the Trump administration, and, on nearly all of them, we won. I worked with numerous outside organizations on these efforts. I worked to get 100+ national organizations to endorse the D.C. statehood bill, and so many of those organizations have been crucial in defending home rule. I have also led the efforts to expand home rule. For example, I led the work on the District of Columbia National Guard Home Rule Act, which would give the mayor the authority over our Guard instead of the President. I led that bill to passing in the House for the first time. Congresswoman Norton was ranked as one of the most effective lawmakers by academics every Congress I worked for her, despite not having the vote on final passage. Trained by the best, I am an expert in legislative process and know how to deliver for D.C. I especially know the Oversight Committee, which is crucial, as most D.C. bills go through this committee.

I was the lead person working in Congress, side-by-side with Congresswoman Norton, for the past eight years on D.C. statehood. When I started, the D.C. statehood bill had been voted on only once, in 1993, and it failed two-to-one. I worked to make D.C. statehood the national issue it is and deserves to be. I worked to get 100+ national organizations to endorse the bill. I worked with those organizations, D.C. residents and others, and got a record number of cosponsors on the bill. Most importantly, we took the statehood bill from losing in 1993 to passing in the U.S. House of Representatives — twice. The second time, every House Democrat voted “YES” for statehood. I would work with those 100+ organizations who endorsed the bill and the members of Congress who cosponsored it. I would take every opportunity to speak out about D.C. and our quest for statehood. I know the legislative process and how to deliver for D.C. I would also use every attack on D.C. as an opportunity to gain statehood cosponsors and expand our autonomy, as I did with Norton, for example, when we passed the District of Columbia National Guard Home Rule Act in the House.

I would bring back the first-time homeowner’s tax credit, adjusted for inflation, that expired before I started working with Congresswoman Norton, which would be about $7,500, and permanently authorize it. I would make sure that D.C. is treated as a state for all federal funding, including housing. I want to transfer as much federal land as possible to D.C., which could be used for housing. (It would be up to D.C. to decide what to do with that land after it is transferred.) I also want to increase funding for public housing, including Section 8 housing. Investments in public housing have not kept up with inflation over the decades, and it’s unacceptable that it can take years to get housing vouchers. I would continue the work I did with Congresswoman Norton to make sure that individuals in public housing do not lose their housing because they use marijuana in a way that’s regulated like smoking cigarettes. I would transfer all authority over land use and development decisions in D.C. that aren’t on federal property to D.C. officials, not federal ones.

The best way to improve D.C.’s economy, as impacted by the firings of our federal employees, is to stop the illegal firings of our employees and to have them hired back, with back pay. Working arm-in-arm with Congresswoman Norton, and as a former federal executive branch employee myself, I fought the illegal firings of our public employees and to have them hired back, with back pay. I fought for pay raises for our public servants and drafted complex legislation to improve their retirement benefits. I strongly fought back when the Trump administration attempted to move federal agencies outside of D.C. When one agency moved in his first term, it had to move back to D.C. almost immediately. There is a reason federal agencies are in D.C., and they should remain here.

I worked side-by-side with Congresswoman Norton for the past eight years on every major federal issue impacting D.C. Congresswoman Norton was ranked as one of the most effective lawmakers by academics every Congress I worked for her — and this despite not having the vote on final passage. I am an expert in legislative process and know how to deliver for D.C. I released a detailed plan on how to expand the authority of the Delegate, including by giving the Delegate the vote on such critical issues as impeachment and for the House Speaker. I especially know the House Oversight Committee, which is crucial for this position given that most D.C. bills go through there. I worked to get over 100 national organizations to endorse the statehood bill and worked with them to get a record number of cosponsors on the bill and to pass it through the House for the first time ever. I worked with numerous outside stakeholders as I drafted and advanced legislation. I also know how to identify legislative “vehicles” to attach our bills to so that they move.

Congresswoman Norton is one of the greatest lawmakers in American history. She was ranked by non-partisan academics as one of the most effective lawmakers in Congress every Congress I worked with her. It’s because she knows the legislative process. I’m very proud of the work I contributed to her achieving that consistent ranking. We are at the door of equality for the residents of the District of Columbia because of the hard work she and I put in for the past eight years. We have 207 cosponsors on the D.C. statehood bill now — even in the minority — and it takes only 218 to pass a bill in the House. I worked to get over 100 national organizations to endorse the statehood bill. I would work with those organizations, other members of Congress, D.C. residents, and others, to continue using every avenue and vehicle possible to continue to advance support for statehood and for home rule. I know the House Oversight Committee, its rules, its members, and its staff, as I staffed Congresswoman Norton there for the past eight years. This is critical as most D.C. bills, including statehood, move through that committee.

I worked to bring the RFK land transfer to House passage. This involved working with Republicans and Democrats. At the federal level, the role of the Delegate is to make sure that there are no obstacles posed by the federal government in completing transfer of the land, and there have not been. What D.C. does with the land, including its agreement with the Commanders, is a home rule decision that should be left to D.C. Congress should not meddle in local D.C. affairs, and since this is now land controlled by D.C., Congress should likewise not meddle in it.

The dedication of our residents for our equality, which can only come through statehood: Working on the Hill for eight years for Congresswoman Norton on D.C. matters, I was always overwhelmed when D.C. would show up to fight for our autonomy and to advance our equality. As one example, having school children coming up to protest cutting a billion dollars from D.C.’s local budget, arguing that they didn’t want their teachers fired, was particularly impactful.

One of my favorite Hill-type experiences is wondering what celebrity you might run into. During my time working on the Hill, I had the opportunity to meet, for example, with President Bartlet (Martin Sheen) and Elliot Stabler (Chris Meloni — a D.C. native!).