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Mayor Bowser addresses concerns about DC's autonomy under second Trump administration

President-elect Donald Trump has threatened to take control of D.C.'s local government

WASHINGTON — D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser says she is taking a collaborative approach to a second Trump administration, but is prepared to defend the city's self-governance under any attacks.

"We have been discussing and planning for many months in the case that the District has to defend itself and its values," Bowser said during a Tuesday news briefing. 

With just 69 days away from the Inauguration Day, Bowser addressed security preparations and concerns about D.C.'s autonomy under a second Trump administration.

Bowser says she is likely to request the support of the D.C. National Guard on Jan. 6, when Congress will convene to count the electoral votes. District officials say the date is now under heightened national security following the 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

The Bowser administration says they are already in conversations with the Trump Transition Team discussing preparations for Jan. 20. Bowser says she has also requested a meeting with the president-elect. 

On the campaign trail, Trump took aim at the District's public safety.

"We will take over the horribly run capital of our nation in Washington, D.C., and clean it up, renovate it and rebuild our capital city so there is no longer a nightmare of murder and crime," he said during a rally in Florida. He also has taken aim at Bowser's leadership. 

Following Trump's victory, D.C. officials have voiced concerns about the future of the nation's capital under the Republican administration. 

Republicans have introduced multiple bills over the past few years that threatening to repealing D.C.'s Home Rule Act. Since the 1970s, D.C. has had its own government elected by residents. This was established with Congress passing the Home Rule Act of 1973. It went into effect in 1975 after being signed into law by President Richard Nixon.

The Home Rule Act formed the roles of the city council and the mayor, and allowed D.C. to have some autonomy and pass its own laws. 

"The District has Home Rule, and the Congress could change it. They could. That is possible. That is probably as you mentioned not a likely occurrence," Bowser said. 

Bowser also responded to possible threats of federalizing the DC Police Department. 

"In a very volatile time those threats were made but not executed," she responded. 

On the campaign trail, Trump also vowed to relocate tens of thousands of federal employees. His first administration relocated several agencies and a significant number of federal employees out of the greater Washington, D.C. metro area.

"We know the administration is focused on making the federal government more efficient. We are for that. But we also want to talk about that we have the infrastructure here for a federal workforce," Bowser said.

Among Bowser's priorities with the new administration, is bringing the federal workforce back to in-person work and the use of federal buildings in the downtown area. 

There is still no date for the potential meeting between Bowser and Trump. 

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