By Natalie Andrews

WASHINGTON -- Muriel Bowser, Washington, D.C.'s Democratic mayor, has for months been working behind the scenes to shield the nation's capital from a Republican-led effort to exert far-reaching control over the city.

In December, she flew to Mar-a-Lago to make nice with Donald Trump before the inauguration. She is overseeing the removal of a "Black Lives Matter" mural on a street next to the White House amid complaints from GOP lawmakers. She accelerated efforts to clear a homeless encampment in the city after Trump called it "unsightly." And she removed from city government websites references to the district as a "sanctuary city" for immigrants in the country illegally.

That charm offensive will face its biggest test this week.

With the government funding deadline this weekend, a provision in the bill that would slash roughly $1 billion from the district's budget is at the center of a heated fight in the Senate. Senators from both parties have expressed unease about the cut, but blocking the entire bill over their concerns could threaten a shutdown. That has left lawmakers in search of a path forward. The House passed the bill on Tuesday and then left Washington.

For decades, Congress has approved the district's budget without any changes. It is unclear why House GOP lawmakers, who wrote the funding bill, mandated that the district cut its budget.

District officials say the provision would force them to make drastic cuts to law enforcement, public schools and programs for low-income residents. The money is largely taxes paid by Washingtonians, not federal funds, and Congress has final approval of the district's budget. Senators from both parties blamed the House for the mess.

Bowser has been calling lawmakers on the Hill, including Sen. Susan Collins (R., Maine) to raise concerns about the massive cut to the district's budget, the senator said.

"How dare the House tell D.C. that they cannot spend dollars that are their own dollars to spend?" said Sen. Tim Kaine (D., Va.).

Until the text of the government funding measure was released on Saturday, Bowser's advisers thought they were making progress in their campaign to keep Republicans out of the city's business. Even though Trump again told reporters last month that the federal government should "take over" the city, people close to Bowser believed the mayor's relationship with the president would prevent the administration from moving forward with executive actions to follow through on his rhetoric.

For years, Bowser, 52, has had a tenuous relationship with Republicans.

She campaigned for re-election in 2022 in part by highlighting her opposition to Trump. "When Donald Trump attacked our values, Muriel Bowser stood tall," read one of her campaign fliers, which featured a photo of the mayor standing near Black Lives Matter plaza. Still, some in her party have criticized her for her relationship with the president and what they see as capitulation.

Trump, in turn, repeatedly criticized Washington during the recent presidential campaign, casting it as a symbol of the rampant crime and vandalism he argues are plaguing Democrat-run cities. Bowser is quick to point out that crime has declined in the city. Republicans have long sought to tinker with the district's affairs, and some GOP lawmakers have introduced legislation to end Washington's ability to govern itself.

Still, Bowser has managed to work with Republicans. Last year, she successfully lobbied for the inclusion of a provision in a broader spending bill that gave the district control of the land surrounding an aging Washington sports stadium. The move laid the groundwork for bringing an NFL team back to the city, but it earned the scorn of billionaire Trump adviser Elon Musk.

The proposed cuts to Washington's budget are the result of unusual language in the spending bill that treats the district like a government agency. The bill would keep the district's funding at the previous fiscal year's levels, instead of excluding the district from spending cuts or freezes, as usually is done. An attempt to amend the bill failed in the House.

Eleanor Holmes Norton, the district's nonvoting delegate to the House, called the mandated cuts an "act of fiscal sabotage against D.C." She added that the move was "an abuse of power over a disenfranchised jurisdiction," alluding to Washington's lack of congressional representation.

Nearly all Republican senators are likely to support the spending bill. Democrats are pushing for a 30-day stopgap measure, also known as a continuing resolution, instead of the Republican bill. To avoid a shutdown, some Democrats, such as Sen. John Fetterman, will vote to pass the bill, with the Pennsylvania Democrat saying, "I refuse to burn the village down and to claim to save it."

The Republican-led House has a planned recess next week, meaning that even if Bowser is able to get the bill amended and sent back to the House, there could be a shutdown in the interim.

Since 1973, the district has governed itself. Congress can overturn laws passed by the District of Columbia council and has control of the budget. Generally, the district's budget has been approved without changes, though in recent years some congressional Republicans have objected to the city's autonomy. Rep. Andy Ogles (R., Tenn.) called it a "cesspool of Democrats' failed policies." District residents have repeatedly voted for statehood, a measure supported by most congressional Democrats.

To make the required cuts in the current spending bill, Bowser has said the city will have to limit essential services. The money would sit in the district's coffers, unable to be spent. Or the city could spend the money and risk a lawsuit.

Most of the money for the district's budget comes from the city's residents through property, individual income and sales taxes.

Protests are planned at the Hart Senate Office Building on Thursday morning. Parents are encouraged to bring their children to the protest, as the district's schools are off, and schools would be affected if the spending bill passes.

"It does not save the federal government a penny, because we operate like a state, we are not federally funded," said Phil Mendelson, the district's council chairman.

Write to Natalie Andrews at natalie.andrews@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 13, 2025 07:00 ET (11:00 GMT)

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