D.C. officials race to remove $1 billion budget cut tucked into federal spending bill

D.C. leaders pressed Congress on Wednesday to eliminate a $1 billion midyear cut to the city’s budget included in a federal spending bill, saying it would imperil police and emergency responders’ staffing and funds for public schools.

Mayor Muriel Bowser and Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, both Democrats, said they will keep hounding the Republican-controlled Congress after the House passed a stopgap bill forcing the District to trim $1.1 billion from its budget before the fiscal year ends Sept. 30.

“The proposed one billion [dollar] cut to DC’s budget is senseless, reckless and would have devastating consequences for our nation’s capital, impacting public safety, education, and essential services,” the mayor’s office said in a statement to The Washington Times. “We will continue to fight tirelessly in the Senate to ensure the District can continue to operate under our congressionally approved FY25 budget.”

D.C. officials said cuts could include $300 million from the city’s public and charter schools, $216 million from Metro transit, $75 million from the Metropolitan Police Department, $38 million from D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services and $28 million from the city’s Department of Human Services.

Those agencies are targets for cuts because much of the city’s $21 billion budget is tied up in contracts, leases and Medicaid. Accessing the funds for those commitments would take longer before the fiscal year ends.

“This CR is a radical departure from decades of congressional practice that would have devastating consequences for the District,” said Ms. Norton, the District’s nonvoting member of Congress. “It amounts to nothing less than an act of fiscal sabotage against D.C. and is an abuse of power over a disenfranchised jurisdiction — the consequences be damned.”

The temporary spending bill, known as a continuing resolution, can be changed by the Senate, but any revision must be sent back to the House for approval.

That would be difficult. House Speaker Mike Johnson, Louisiana Republican, told lawmakers to return to their home states after Tuesday’s vote. It’s a hardball Washington tactic to compel the Senate to pass the bill or risk being blamed for shutting down the federal government.

Congress must pass the proposal and President Trump must sign it into law before midnight Friday to avoid a partial government shutdown.

The political maneuvers make the prospective cuts to the District’s budget more likely. Lawmakers removed a provision in the bill allowing the District to fund city operations even when Democrats and Republicans are at odds over federal spending.

Without the 2-decade-old provision, the bill holds the District to the same standards as federal agencies. The continuing resolution would require agencies to revert their budgets to 2024 levels.

City lawmakers argued that nearly 75% of the money in the District’s budget comes from local tax revenue.

If the spending bill is signed into law, the $1 billion will not be returned to the federal government. Instead, it will be frozen and sit in a “bank,” said D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson, a Democrat.

House Republicans didn’t seem swayed by the District’s warnings of drastic cuts.

“We don’t need their votes, and we’re not going to have it,” said Rep. Ralph Normam, South Carolina Republican, according to WTTG-TV. “Wouldn’t firing D.C. cops make this city less safe? They’re not going to fire D.C. cops. That’s not right.”

Rep. Andy Harris, Maryland Republican and chairman of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, told the station that the District “should be concerned about running an efficient government that delivers public safety.”

The budget battle is the latest episode in which the District plays defense against Republicans in Congress and the White House.

On Monday, work crews scrubbed a sprawling “Black Lives Matter” mural from 16th Street Northwest. The mural, long a bone of contention with Republican lawmakers in Washington, was the subject of a recently introduced bill that threatened to pull federal funds from the city if it remained.

Congressional Republicans have also proposed bills to revoke the Home Rule Act of 1973, which allows city residents to elect a mayor and city council to govern local matters. If the bill becomes law, both offices will be abolished and control of the District’s day-to-day operations will be turned over to Congress.

Mr. Trump has harangued the District to clear homeless encampments and crack down on criminals.

Last week, the District cleared out an encampment near the State Department two days after the president posted on social media about tents outside the federal building.

City officials announced additional encampment clearances in the coming weeks.

As for crime, the city’s top federal prosecutor, Ed Martin, issued a memo this month saying all ex-felons caught with guns will face tougher punishment.

Mr. Martin, a Trump loyalist who defended clients charged with participating in the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, directed prosecutors to charge all armed ex-felons in federal court instead of D.C. Superior Court.

Ex-felons convicted in federal gun possession cases can be sentenced to prison for five to nine years. In Superior Court, critics accused prosecutors of allowing defendants to plead to less serious charges, often resulting in little jail time.