Bowser wants DC to issue marriage licenses amid shutdown
The article reports that Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has urged the D.C. Council to pass an emergency bill, named the “Let Our Vows Endure Emergency Amendment Act of 2025,” which would allow the city to issue marriage licenses during the current federal goverment shutdown. Because the Marriage Bureau in the D.C. Superior Court is federally funded, it has been closed since the shutdown began, preventing couples from legally marrying. bowser highlighted the disruption this causes to residents and others seeking to marry in the District and emphasized the need for the Council to grant the executive branch authority to issue licenses and authorize officiants during this period. The legislation was introduced by councilmember Christina Henderson and scheduled for a Council vote.This bill mirrors temporary legislation passed during the 2019 government shutdown under President donald Trump. Meanwhile, the government shutdown, which has entered its second week, shows no signs of resolution as negotiations between Republicans and Democrats remain stalled.
Bowser wants DC Council to pass bill allowing marriage licenses amid shutdown
Mayor Muriel Bowser on Tuesday urged the District of Columbia Council to pass an emergency bill that would allow the city to issue marriage licenses during the government shutdown.
The Marriage Bureau in the D.C. Superior Court has been closed since the shutdown took effect last week, preventing soon-to-be-wed couples from making their union legal. The court is federally funded, thus ceasing some of its nonessential operations amid the funding lapse.
“The inability of District residents, and others choosing to celebrate their marriage in the District, to obtain a marriage license is highly disruptive to personal lives,” Bowser said in a statement ahead of the vote. “I urge the Council to pass this legislation so that the Executive has the authority to issue marriage licenses and authorize officiants during the federal government shutdown.”
The legislation is set for a vote on Tuesday after the bill, called the Let Our Vows Endure Emergency Amendment Act of 2025, was introduced by Councilmember Christina Henderson the day before. The Council’s legislative meeting for Tuesday starts at noon.
The mayor thanked Henderson for “moving this emergency legislation.”
The bill is identical in name and purpose to temporary legislation Bowser signed during the 35-day government shutdown in January 2019, when President Donald Trump was in his first term. The current shutdown is the first since the one in 2019.
GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN ENTERS SECOND WEEK WITH NO BREAKTHROUGH IN SIGHT
The federal shutdown is now on its seventh day, and it appears no resolution between Republicans and Democrats is in sight.
Trump is pressuring Democrats, namely Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), to reopen the government after they rejected House Republicans’ continuing resolution over the expiration of healthcare subsidies. The Senate has repeatedly failed to pass partial funding measures from both Republicans and Democrats.
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