This story is part of WTOP’s ongoing series, Trump Impact, which looks at how the new administration could change the D.C. region.
D.C. officials are bracing for more clashes with lawmakers on Capitol Hill in the near future, as Republicans are set to take control of the White House and the U.S. Senate following Tuesday’s election.
And the GOP eyes a potential path to maintaining a majority in the U.S. House too, as some races haven’t been called as of Thursday afternoon.
There has been an ongoing feud between federal and local lawmakers over self-government in the nation’s capital, which is controlled by Democrats.
Last year, the House and Senate passed a bill to overturn changes to the city’s criminal code that had been approved by the D.C. Council.
President Joe Biden signed the measure, reflecting a shift in the long-held Democratic position that the federal government should let D.C. govern itself.
“We, the District of Columbia, have a very good city, financially sound, and well run,” D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson said in a statement, responding to Tuesday’s election results. “We will remain focused on our strengths, protect our autonomy, and make sure no one tries to take that away from us.”
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The criminal code rewrite was the first D.C. law to be completely overturned in such a way since 1991.
However, because D.C. is not a state, the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability essentially vets all new District laws and frequently alters or limits them through “budget riders.”
“Every year in the appropriations process, there are things called ‘riders’ where language is inserted that prohibits the District of Columbia from spending money on certain things or from doing anything to enact locally passed laws,” said Zach Israel, former ANC commissioner and an expert on D.C. law.
One well-known example came in 2015, when Congress passed a rider prohibiting the District from using funds to enact new laws to regulate and tax a local marijuana industry.
That stopped businesses from being able to sell recreational marijuana legally, even though it is legal to possess and smoke marijuana in the District.
“Many riders have been proposed in the last two years by the current House Republican majority and stopped by the Senate Democratic majority, so we sort of have an inkling as to what their priorities have been on that front,” Israel said.
With Republicans in full control, Israel said, they may try to make other changes, such as prohibiting the District’s government from using automated traffic enforcement cameras or requiring residents show photo ID in order to vote.
“There are a lot of other priorities going on that a Republican Congress will need to deal with, so that doesn’t mean that people in positions of power will be honed in on these types of things, but I think we have somewhat of a blueprint on this,” Israel said.
Patrick Mara, chairman of the D.C. Republican Party, said he believed that “most Republicans don’t have an interest in interfering with the city.”
“D.C. Republicans and the D.C. Republican Party are very supportive of home rule,” Mara said. “Over the last several years, there have really been two major issues that are unprecedented in terms of what I hear from Republican members of Congress.”
Those issues are public safety and noncitizen voting in the District, according to Mara.
A law passed by the D.C. Council in 2022 allows noncitizens to vote in local elections.
Mara called the law “extreme” and said he could “certainly see a repeal” of it under the incoming Republican leadership.
“There are lots of things that could be discussed, but I would say there would be more of a laser focus on dealing with the public safety issue and that noncitizen voting legislation,” Mara said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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