D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) announced Tuesday that she has requested a meeting with President-elect Donald Trump, aiming to foster collaboration with the former—and now returning—president, despite his history of hostility toward the capital city and its self-governance. Bowser’s team has reached out to Trump’s staff to arrange the meeting but has not yet received a response. Trump’s campaign did not comment on the request, and he is scheduled to meet with President Joe Biden at the White House on Wednesday.
While Bowser emphasized that her administration has been preparing to defend D.C. against potential challenges to its autonomy—many of which Trump threatened during his campaign—her remarks on Tuesday focused on finding areas of agreement. At a news conference, Bowser congratulated Trump on his election victory and stated, “Washington, D.C., is ready to welcome the new administration, and we are committed to ensuring a smooth and collaborative transition.”
As a city lacking statehood and subject to congressional oversight, D.C. remains uniquely vulnerable to federal intervention. In recent years, Republicans in Congress have intensified efforts to limit the city’s autonomy, targeting progressive legislation. During his campaign, Trump pledged to “take over” D.C. and “clean it up,” echoing actions from his previous term when he threatened to assume control of the city’s police force during the 2020 racial justice protests.
Bowser expressed her desire to focus on policy priorities that require federal cooperation, including encouraging federal employees to return to in-person work and transforming underutilized federal properties into housing and retail spaces as part of a downtown revitalization effort. She reiterated her advocacy for the federal government to transfer such properties to D.C. at no cost, leveraging legal provisions that treat the District like a federal agency in land transfers, unlike states.
Additionally, Bowser noted plans to engage with incoming members of Congress to further these goals.
“We need partners that help return the vibrancy of downtown Washington and what I like to call — my staff doesn’t like it when I say this — the majesty of the federal government,” Bowser told The Washington Post.
Some aspects of Trump’s campaign platform conflict with Bowser’s vision. Trump has proposed significant staffing cuts in the federal government and relocating workers away from the D.C. area—a plan that would reshape the region and hinder Bowser’s efforts to bring federal employees back to downtown in large numbers. Acknowledging this challenge on Tuesday, Bowser expressed her intent to persuade Trump that the D.C. region remains the optimal location for federal workers.
“We’re going to make our pitch,” she said.
