Approaching her final year as mayor of D.C., Muriel Bowser spoke with WTOP to discuss the successes of 2025, and the outside challenges she has navigated during the first year of President Donald Trump’s second administration.
In the face of criticism from the White House about the city’s handling of crime and questions about the authenticity of the city’s crime data, Bowser was quick to highlight public safety improvements and other wins she said her administration secured in 2025.
“We also just had a heck of a year in terms of we had to address outside challenges. We delivered big for the city in the things that we promised, including opening a full service hospital east of the river, and getting 180 acres from the federal government so that we could build a stadium, housing, parks and recreation,” Bowser said.
Despite that progress, the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress have questioned whether D.C. is doing enough, and have taken matters into their own hands by sending National Guard members into the city. Just as D.C. Police Chief Pamela Smith announced her retirement, the Republican-led House Oversight Committee issued a report claiming that crime statistics were changed to create the illusion of a safer city.
Bowser defended Smith’s accomplishments and said the concerns about crime in D.C. are nothing new.
“We spent most of 2023 with people telling me that we had to do something about crime. I was very proud to recruit Pamela Smith to lead the Metropolitan Police Department and look anew at our strategies. And for those two years, we have seen a precipitous drop in crime,” Bowser said.
Following reviews from the House Oversight Committee and the Department of Justice, the D.C. Inspector General is now looking into the city’s crime data. Bowser cautioned that people need to see all the data from all sides.
“I think it is always helpful, when we have seen politically motivated reports, to have a dispassioned actual auditor, actual investigator of government processes to look at it,” Bowser said.
Any reporting around the stats should not only reflect Oversight Republicans’ determinations, Bowser said, but should also include what oversight Democrats had to say.
Bowser on what’s next: ‘I’m not retiring’
While talking about her 2025 successes, Bowser, who is not running for reelection when her term ends in January 2027, took a moment to share her thoughts on the qualities she feels voters will want in the next mayor.
“I trust D.C. voters, and so D.C. voters are going to look at all their options. They’re going to ask the tough questions. They’re going to say to candidates what their hopes and dreams are, and they’re going to pick the person who reflects their values and what they want to see get done for the city,” Bowser said.
“It’s not an election where a person who advances on platitudes, I think, will be successful. I think that voters are going to be looking for real solutions, real experience, and want to know how the candidate field will address the economy and attracting new businesses, keeping jobs, keeping residents in the District. People want to know what candidates think about our public education system and maintaining mayoral control and council accountability,” she added.
So, what’s next for Bowser? There hasn’t been an official announcement.
“I like to work. I like to get things done. So let me just be clear about this: I’m not retiring. I’m a very young mayor, and I have a lot of years of getting things done, and I’m always going to be a great supporter of Washington, D.C.,” Bowser said.
“I’m proud of our city, I’m proud of D.C. residents, and I’m grateful to them for investing in my leadership over the last 11 years as mayor,” she added. “Nobody is going to cry for me for having 12 years to get things done as the mayor of my hometown, and nobody is expecting me to take my foot off the gas for the last 12 months.”
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