But now, with only a few months left in the session, those goals and others appear in doubt. And if Republicans win control of Congress in November, it may be years before D.C. has another chance at them — creating high stakes for an election that its residents can’t vote in. D.C. is also the only jurisdiction in the United States that Congress oversees, since it’s not a state, and Republicans have already indicated that they plan to intervene in D.C. affairs.
The city has been used to that congressional oversight for decades — but in a post-Roe world, Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D. C.) and local abortion providers warn that Republicans could try to severely curtail abortion in D.C. if they are in the majority. One Republican, Rep. Andrew S. Clyde (Ga.), has gone as far as threatening to try to end D.C.’s home rule and local government altogether — an idea Norton doesn’t think realistically would succeed in Congress but is nevertheless evidence of the hostile posture a GOP majority could take toward the city.
“The stakes [in the midterms] are perhaps higher for D.C. than any other jurisdiction,” Norton said.
RFK, parole plans fizzling this year
With the House-passed statehood bill sitting stagnant in the Senate — largely dashed after Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) said he would not support the bill last year — D.C. had turned its attention to more readily attainable local priorities it could still pursue in Congress.
But even some of those have faltered amid internal disagreement that still hasn’t been resolved — particularly the city’s hope to purchase the RFK Stadium land from the federal government through federal legislation.
Earlier this year, Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) boldly stated her desire to turn the site into a new stadium for the Washington Commanders, with a portion of the land used for housing. But a majority of the D.C. Council members said in a June letter that they opposed bringing the scandal-plagued football team into the city, as it remains under congressional investigation over alleged widespread sexual harassment and financial improprieties. And Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D) said in June he would not support federal legislation to buy the land unless it includes language prohibiting an NFL stadium.
The negotiations remain at a standstill as the clock ticks. Norton has said she won’t introduce the bill until the two leaders reach an agreement — but neither Bowser nor Mendelson is budging, and they haven’t discussed RFK since June, according to Mendelson and Beverly Perry, Bowser’s special adviser.
Asked if that meant the city was giving up on RFK, with time running out in the congressional session, Perry said “the ball is in Mrs. Norton’s court” and that Norton needed to introduce the bill anyway. To some degree, all parties blame each other for the inaction.
“The mayor will never commit to any type of legislation that is going to have Congress suppress our options,” Perry said, referring to the restriction Mendelson wanted in the bill to prohibit the football stadium, which she called a “nonstarter.” “She’s not going to do that.”
Norton said she would have no problem playing “tiebreaker”…
Read More: D.C. won’t have a vote in the midterms — but has plenty at stake
