In 2019, Muriel Bowser began her second term as the mayor of Washington, D.C. At the time, her intention was to build 36,000 new homes by 2025. After setting this ambitious target, she signed a Mayor’s Order on housing, directing agencies to develop new policies and initiatives to achieve it.
On Monday, Bowser announced that the goal had not only been met but exceeded ahead of schedule. “This is a big day. We hit our goal,” Bowser declared. “There are now over 65,000 D.C. residents living in new homes across the city.”
The District invested over $1.3 billion in the Housing Production Trust Fund, the primary tool for creating and preserving affordable housing. “Most importantly, we got the money out the door,” Bowser emphasized.
She noted that the influx of new housing units since 2019 has helped stabilize overall housing costs in D.C. “As we’ve added 36,000 new homes over the past years, the cost of housing in D.C. has grown at half the rate of housing nationwide,” Bowser said. “We’ve been able to blunt the increase in housing costs.”
Bowser also highlighted the benefits of increased housing options for retaining long-time residents and attracting new ones. “Twenty-six million people visit Washington, D.C. every year—that’s the size of Florida. If we can offer them the right housing options, we will continue to grow as a city,” she added.
In May, Shine My Crown reported that the Republican-controlled House Oversight Committee announced the cancellation of a hearing slated for later that day, where lawmakers intended to question Bowser about her handling of pro-Palestinian student protests at George Washington University. This decision followed a police raid that cleared the student encampment, which had been occupying a lawn on the university campus since April 25.
According to The GW Hatchet, the university’s student newspaper, more than 30 protesters were arrested by D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) around 3:30 a.m. on Wednesday. Police deployed pepper spray against protesters who refused to vacate the area or attempted to forcibly access the space to support protesters. Previously, MPD had declined to clear the encampment, stating that the student protesters had not engaged in violence, violent behavior, or confrontations, and were not considered a threat to public safety.
Mayor Bowser, a Democrat, had been summoned to appear before the House Oversight Committee by its chair, Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), the previous week. Comer expressed deep concerns over reports indicating that the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department had rejected George Washington University’s request for help in removing the protesters, whom he described as radical, antisemitic, and unlawful.
