As Trump’s second term raises existential questions for many Washingtonians, D.C.’s system of self-government may face an existential threat.

Donald Trump has was threatened If elected, he will “take over” D.C., calling the city a “nightmare of murder and crime.” Emboldened by a decisive victory and complete control of at least two branches of government, he was able to fulfill his promises. This is even more likely if Republicans win the House of Representatives.

“Washington, D.C., is going to be under attack like we haven’t seen in a long time,” says Eugene Kinlow, a veteran D.C. politician who served as Mayor Bowser’s director of federal and state affairs.

Efforts to eliminate D.C.’s right to self-determination, federalize its police force, weaken its gun laws, and change its social policies have continued in the past. Some were quixotic long shotsothers have been more successful.

But this time, D.C. politicians see an overhaul of city government as a real possibility, perhaps even a certainty.

Chuck Thies, a local political operative, puts it plainly. “If Republicans gain control of Capitol Hill,” he says, “home rule as we know it will die.”

Since the passage of the Home Rule Act more than 50 years ago, which gave D.C. its first mayor and council, the District has frequently had to fight raids D.C.’s troubled finances brought into local politics by congressional Republicans under control From 1995 to 2001, a Congress-appointed board gave the feds a de facto say over decisions made by the council and two successive mayors.

But Trump has taken a uniquely hostile stance toward D.C. Amid Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, Trump and his aides said the federal government take over D.C.’s police force, however, never came to fruition.

It’s not hard to imagine one reason the district is outraged: He received less than 5.5 percent of the vote there in 2020, and even in other urban areas across the country. slipped Democratic candidate Kamala Harris on the right on Tuesday to win More than 90 percent of the vote in DC.

Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation’s roadmap for governance in Trump’s second term, makes some D.C.-specific recommendations: That Congress deregulate and expand the city’s private school voucher program and that the Uniformed Division of the United States Secret Service pass legislation practice, the document’s authors describe it as “tied to the trend of pro-crime progressive policies.”

Although Project 2025 is not aimed at eliminating local government, it is on the wish list of some local Republicans fed up with the D.C. Council.

“Trump wants to do this, but he has other things to worry about,” says former Republican congressional aide John Feehery. “I’m not saying they’re going to take over the government, but God knows they need it.”

Former D.C. shadow representative John Capozzi thinks eliminating home rule is a top priority for Republicans eager to portray the city as a symptom of Democrats’ failures. Capozzi believes their interference could harm the District, from public schools to law enforcement.

“This will go beyond anything people thought,” Capozzi says. “There’s nothing they can’t do, nothing they don’t say they’ll do.”

Republicans would likely need a filibuster-free Senate majority to eliminate home rule altogether, and they have never offered a full-fledged plan to replace D.C.’s flawed but functional local government. Out-of-state lawmakers, federally appointed commissioners, like three, managed Before decentralization, the District could reduce crime or make other improvements. But running a city of 679,000 and actually being accountable for policy outcomes rather than critiquing those outcomes from the sidelines is probably more work than they have in mind.

D.C. shadow senator-elect Ankit Jain isn’t sure Congress will find such a sweeping overhaul worth its time.

Jain asked, “Do they want to be the city government of Washington, D.C.?” he says. “I don’t think it’s in their interest to move forward on the more radical issues that they’re talking about.”

Republicans can also selectively manage D.C. politics. Congress can review and override any bill passed by the D.C. Council, as with the criminal justice reform bill last year. Federal lawmakers may approve D.C.’s budget subject to policy changes, a method they used to block recreational marijuana legalization in 2015. Under Trump, Washingtonians can probably expect more where that comes from.

Washingtonian He was unable to reach Utah Republican Sen. Mike Lee. introduced A bill to end home rule for comment. Mayor Bowser’s office declined to comment on the matter until the mayor completes his public statement.

The district often must negotiate with the federal government. There will be a particularly big horse-trading session coming soon: Bowser is looking for another shot at turning RFK stadium into a new football stadium, but the bill aimed at offering federal leases to D.C. is stalled in the Senate and is unlikely to become law during a lame duck session.

Thies predicts those negotiations will become much more painful next year as congressional Republicans use the project as a bargaining chip. “You want a football stadium? “Maybe we need to change the gun control laws a little bit,” he says of a possible deal. “The mayor is very pragmatic. “I could see him making some pragmatic decisions, but there are also red lines like reproductive rights.”

For many Washingtonians, such bargaining is a reminder that despite D.C.’s staunch Democratic voting preferences, we are uniquely subject to the whims of the party that holds the legislative majority.

“This would be proof that we are actually a colony rather than part of our democratic government at home,” says Capozzi. “I think it is the duty of every D.C. elected official to resist this.”

Jain thinks the Republican attacks will greatly relieve D.C.’s lack of representation and make it clear to people outside the District that the district should be the 51st state.

“Unless you want the federal government to come in and take control of your police force and set policies on traffic safety, emissions standards, local legislation and women’s right to vote,” says Jain, “why would you do that?” You want the federal government to do this to the people of Washington DC?