Trump looms over high-stakes DC mayoral primary

Thank you for signing up!

Subscribe to more newsletters here

▪ High-stakes primaries in nation’s capital ▪ World waits for Iran deal text▪ Newsom says he’s under investigation ▪ Obama center has Dems feeling sentimental

President Trump is casting a shadow over the District of Columbia as the city’s voters head to the polls for what may be the most consequential primary elections in more than a decade. 

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) is not seeking a fourth term in office, leaving an open mayoral race for the first time since 2014 and setting up a battle between two wings of the Democratic Party.  Since Washington is one of the most solidly blue cities in the U.S., whoever wins the Democratic nomination will almost certainly win the general election in November. 

The primary to succeed Bowser is crowded but likely comes down to former D.C. Council member Kenyan McDuffie, a moderate, and sitting Council member Janeese Lewis George, a democratic socialist. 

The issues of boosting the economy, bringing down costs, public safety and housing are all top of mind for voters, but questions about Trump have been inescapable, with National Guard troops deployed across the city and a swirling controversy around city police cooperating with federal immigration officers.  

And Trump inserted a new angle to the race with a threat for federal action last week if Lewis George wins. 

“I wouldn’t like it — and maybe we take back Washington, run it on the federal basis,” Trump said at the Oval Office in response to a question from a reporter. 

Lewis George has led McDuffie in the two independent surveys publicly released — in one poll by 5 points and in another by 11 points. Even if those findings are proven right, that doesn’t guarantee her victory. 

D.C. will implement ranked-choice voting for the first time in its history Tuesday after voters overwhelmingly approved the system in a ballot measure in 2024. That could cause the result to be uncertain for a few days at least. 

David Lublin, chair of the Department of Government at American University, said Trump’s comments may ultimately boost Lewis George. 

“Being hated by President Trump is practically a seal of approval among Democrats these days, so he could be using that strategically to try to amp up someone who would make a great opponent to him,” Lublin said. 

If Trump does intend to go forward with his threat, his powers are limited — especially if Democrats win back control of the House in November.  

Trump and some allies have floated repealing the D.C. Home Rule Act, which has granted the district some amount of self-governing autonomy, but that would require an act of Congress. 

“He can’t act unilaterally, but the threat of federal interference from executives in Congress are ever present in the district,” said Amy Vruno, the executive director of DC Vote, an advocacy group pushing for strengthening democracy in the district. “We’ve seen numerous attempts, and some successful attempts, to interfere with local governing over the history of the district and intensifying recently.” 

The district is in a uniquely vulnerable position given its lack of statehood. While Trump’s efforts to deploy the National Guard without local leaders’ consent has been blocked in court in other states, legal challenges have failed to block the deployment in D.C. 

The Pentagon plans to keep the Guard in town through 2029, and the administration wants to surge their presence with 1,500 additional troops ahead of July 4. 

The Home Rule Act allows the president to take control of the D.C. Police Department when he determines “emergency” conditions exist, as Trump did last year. That emergency can only last 30 days without approval from Congress, but Trump could try declaring additional emergencies. 

Bowser has walked a careful line during Trump’s second term, largely avoiding confrontations with the president and his allies in Congress. Both McDuffie and Lewis George have said they plan to end her administration’s cooperation with federal immigration authorities. 

How to balance standing up to Trump with avoiding his wrath could shape the next two years of city politics and beyond.  

“The fact that that is a consideration, having to weigh on federal interference that other people in other states don’t have to weigh, is an example of why we need statehood,” Vruno said. 

Democrats, who have been more sympathetic........

© The Hill