{"id":2378746,"date":"2024-12-11T06:41:02","date_gmt":"2024-12-11T11:41:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/dc-leaders-split-on-whether-to-fight-with-trump-or-find-common-ground-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-12-11T06:44:06","modified_gmt":"2024-12-11T11:44:06","slug":"dc-leaders-split-on-whether-to-fight-with-trump-or-find-common-ground-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/dc-leaders-split-on-whether-to-fight-with-trump-or-find-common-ground-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"DC leaders split on whether to fight with Trump or find common ground &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">32<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fdc-leaders-split-on-whether-to-fight-with-trump-or-find-common-ground-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2378746&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>In Washington, D.C., officials \u2064are grappling with whether to confront President-elect Donald Trump and \u200cthe \u2064incoming Republican leadership or to pursue a collaborative approach. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/oakland-official-calls-on-calif-gov-newsom-to-issue-state-of-emergency-amid-rising-crime-rates-in-city\/\" title=\"Oakland official calls on Calif. Gov. Newsom to issue state of emergency amid rising crime rates in city\">amid rising crime rates<\/a>,which have been criticized by Republicans \u200cduring their campaign,there\u2064 are concerns about potential changes to D.C.&#8217;s governance, specifically regarding home rule and statehood advocacy.\u200b D.C.&#8217;s non-voting congressional representatives, like Ankit Jain, are\u200d focusing on defending home rule while preparing strategies to push for statehood when Democrats regain power.They anticipate national\u200c Republican efforts to increase federal control over D.C., including proposals for tougher oversight and\u2062 law enforcement. <\/p>\n<p>Amid these tensions, \u2064some local leaders,\u200c such as D.C. \u200dCouncil Chairman \u200dPhil \u2063Mendelson,hope to establish \u200ca productive relationship with the\u2062 new Congress,prioritizing shared concerns like public safety and housing. The <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">recent political discourse highlights<\/a> a division between those seeking collaboration and those prepared for conflict, reflecting \u2064a city at \u2064a crossroads\u2063 in its governance\u200b and relationship with federal authorities.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">DC leaders split on whether to fight with Trump or find common ground<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1908959\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Officials in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/washington-dc\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Washington, D.C.,<\/a> are eyeing the looming <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/republicans\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Republican<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/Congress\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">trifecta<\/a> with uncertainty, debating whether returning to a &ldquo;resistance&rdquo; mindset will be more effective than finding ways to work with President-elect Donald Trump. <\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>Republicans, led by Trump, made criticism of the district a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/soft-food-or-starbucks-mccarthy-and-biden-exchange-jabs-amid-debt-ceiling-standoff\/\" title=\"Soft Food or Starbucks: McCarthy and Biden Exchange Jabs Amid Debt Ceiling Standoff\">familiar talking point<\/a> on the campaign trail. They criticized soaring <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/crime\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">crime<\/a> rates in the years following the pandemic, including incidents that some members of Congress and their staff have experienced <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/opinion\/2584917\/how-many-democrats-in-congress-have-to-experience-violent-crimes-before-they-realize-the-danger-of-their-crime-policies\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">firsthand<\/a>. In the last Congress, members from both the House and Senate <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/crime\/2755554\/house-gop-targets-dc-home-rule-with-resolutions-on-crime-and-immigration\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">introduced<\/a> bills that would repeal home rule, which grants D.C. independence in governing its own affairs, justifying the move as necessary to get the city back on the &ldquo;right track.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>There is a growing sense of urgency among D.C.&rsquo;s shadow officials &mdash; senators and representatives in Congress who don&rsquo;t have any voting power &mdash; that they need to have a plan to push for statehood in place for whenever Democrats return to power.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I think the next two years, the focus is going to be on defending home rule,&rdquo; shadow Sen.-elect Ankit Jain told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>, &ldquo;but I think we need to continue to work on statehood because there&rsquo;s going to be another election for Congress in two years and for president in four years, and when we have a better Congress and a better president, I want to make sure we&rsquo;re ready to seize the opportunity to pass statehood.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;D.C. will be in the spotlight nationally over the next few years because I do expect the national Republicans to really try to attack us, take away our rights,&rdquo; he added.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Jain and his other local colleagues in Congress, such as shadow Sen. Paul Strauss, shadow Rep. Oye Owolewa, and Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, plan on taking the lessons from the 2024 election of how Republicans successfully used media to persuade voters for their own purposes, launching a campaign to convince people that federal involvement in the district is an overreach and unnecessary.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>National Republicans have floated ideas such as federalizing the district, saying, &ldquo;We&rsquo;re going to federalize it. We&rsquo;re gonna have the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/what-republicans-plan-for-dc-with-trifecta-control\/\" title=\"What Republicans plan for DC with trifecta control\">toughest law enforcement<\/a> in the country.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>They&rsquo;ve suggested the National Guard be brought in to address crime in the city, which is trending downward this year after three years of high rates. Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) has led the charge on increasing federal involvement in the district, introducing a bill that would repeal home rule in the 118th Congress and planning the same for the next.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Sadly, the radical politicians who run D.C. are a national embarrassment, from allowing criminals to victimize innocent people to letting foreign citizens vote in local elections,&rdquo; a spokesperson for Lee told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. &ldquo;Congress should step in to restore common sense governance in &ldquo;America&rsquo;s hometown.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>While many D.C. officials and advocates, such as Jain, are convinced these promises will come to fruition or be something they&rsquo;ll have to spend considerable time and resources fighting against, other officials are hoping for a more collaborative relationship with Congress and the White House.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The conversation has been frustrating because it&rsquo;s based on speculation. As we all know, there&rsquo;s a difference between campaign rhetoric and reality, right?&rdquo; D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. &ldquo;Where I hope we, all of us, will be focusing is on issues that we&rsquo;re all concerned about, such as public safety and affordable housing and quality education.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Mendelson stressed that downplaying possible threats to his constituents isn&rsquo;t what he&rsquo;s hoping to do. He sees a lot of common ground between the Council of the District of Columbia and Congress.<\/p>\n<p>Previously, Congress exerted its legislative authority over D.C. policies when it overrode local lawmakers&rsquo; attempts to update the city&rsquo;s criminal code in 2022. The matter became so nationalized that President Joe Biden made a statement saying if Congress overrode the Council&rsquo;s approval of the new code, he wouldn&rsquo;t veto it.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Now, Jain wants the Council to avoid matters that could provoke the ire of Republicans sensitive to public safety concerns.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think we should, like, totally clip our wings and not move anything that could potentially be subject to attack by out-of-state Republicans,&rdquo; Jain said, &ldquo;But it probably would make sense for the Council to think a little bit before they introduce anything.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>When asked if he plans to change legislation the Council will consider in the face of a Republican trifecta, he said, &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t plan on resubmitting the revised criminal code over the next couple years.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Instead, he plans to promote positive news coming out of the district in hopes of staving off some of the federal overreach that&rsquo;s been bandied about.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;In spite of some of the hostile rhetoric, we have a very good story to tell,&rdquo; Mendelson said. <\/p>\n<p>D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has also shown a friendlier face to Trump and the incoming Republican majorities than other deep-blue areas of the country. While Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) is working to &ldquo;Trump-proof&rdquo; the state&rsquo;s progressive policies related to climate and healthcare, Bowser has said she prefers to work with the incoming administration if possible.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We know that we can work together with President Trump to live up to our shared promise, and that is to ensure that Washington, D.C., remains the best city in the world. &hellip; I&rsquo;ve worked with three presidents &ndash; including President-Elect Trump &ndash; and congressional leaders of both parties to advance the priorities of the District,&rdquo; Bowser said at a news conference after the election results handed Trump the White House.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Both Bowser and Mendelson have voiced agreement with Trump&rsquo;s promise to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/labor-days-biden-faces-gop-pressure-to-order-federal-workers-back-to-the-office\/\" title=\"GOP pressures Biden to recall federal workers to the office on Labor Day.\">bring federal workers back<\/a> to their offices downtown. In the first few days of Bowser&rsquo;s third term, she called on the federal government to mandate in-person work in an effort to revitalize downtown. Mendelson also said this requirement would help address a &ldquo;weak area&rdquo; for the district.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Trump has said he&rsquo;s behind making this happen, as have other Republican leaders in Congress.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/?d\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">&nbsp;<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Bureaucrats have been found in a bubble bath, on the golf course, running their own business, and even getting busted doing crime while on taxpayers&rsquo; time. Members of President Biden&rsquo;s own cabinet claimed to be on the clock while being out of office and unreachable,&rdquo; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/3250186\/joni-ernst-report-outlining-problems-government-telework-doge-caucus-meeting\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">said<\/a> Sen. Joni Ernst&rsquo;s (R-IA)<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ernst.senate.gov\/imo\/media\/doc\/final_telework_report.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\"> report<\/a> on remote work in the government.<\/p>\n<p>It&rsquo;s a priority for Trump&rsquo;s new initiative, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/washington-secrets\/3250752\/musk-mtg-ramaswamy-set-doge-targets-goals\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Department of Government Efficiency<\/a>, which will be led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy. They&rsquo;ve also threatened to reduce the size of the federal workforce as a whole.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1908959\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1908959\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>D.C. leaders are divided on opposing Trump or collaborating<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2970,"featured_media":2378747,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/bowser-trump-.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[46556,46555,37043,3634,32076],"class_list":["post-2378746","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-common-ground","tag-dc-leaders","tag-political-debate","tag-trump","tag-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/bowser-trump-.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2378746","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2970"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2378746"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2378746\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2378750,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2378746\/revisions\/2378750"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2378747"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2378746"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2378746"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2378746"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}