Citing confusion over the proposed $1 billion impact to D.C.’s budget, D.C. At-Large Council member Christina Henderson offered a tutorial on her X account on Thursday.
“Budgets can be complicated,” she wrote. “So to combat confusion, I’d like to introduce ‘The District Budget 101, pt1.'”
Henderson’s social media post got over 24,000 views, and she told WTOP, “I didn’t know it would go as viral as it did.”
She said she was eager to help people understand the D.C. budget process as it relates to federal spending.
As an at-large council member, Henderson represents all D.C. residents, not just one ward of the District. She said she wanted to emphasize any cuts that would have to be made would come in the middle of D.C.’s fiscal year.
“Imagine the Congress asking us to literally cut teachers in the middle of the school year,” Henderson said while writing on a whiteboard.
The bulk of money that would have to be cut would come from three “buckets,” she said.
“Public education — so teachers; public safety — so firefighters, police officers; and then human services,” Henderson said.
Proposed cuts would affect staffing levels, she explained, because the biggest cost driver in those agencies is in personnel. Within human services, Henderson said that would include “those who are helping individuals who might be experiencing homelessness or might be in need of social safety net services.”
The Trump administration has criticized D.C. on how it handles crime, homeless encampments, litter and graffiti — all things that Henderson said would be affected should the District be in the position of having to slash spending in the current budget year.
Henderson spent Friday morning lobbying lawmakers on Capitol Hill, hoping to create a provision in the continuing resolution that would protect D.C. from having to revert to its 2024 spending levels.
By Friday evening, U.S. senators announced they would be passing a bill that would allow D.C. to keep its 2025 budget intact rather than roll back to 2024 levels. The bill reverses the provision in the government spending package that would have required $1 billion in cuts.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called the bill “very good news” and urged the House to quickly pass it.
“As I told some offices today, this is not the only time you will see District residents. If this goes forward, we will be here every week until you fix it,” she told federal lawmakers.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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