DC Mayor Primary Candidates Address Trump Comments on Federal Control
Washington, DC, councilmember Janeese Lewis George and former councilmember Kenyan McDuffie are the leading candidates in Tuesday's Democratic primary for mayor. President Trump said Thursday he would not accept a Lewis George victory and might place the city under federal authority.
winnipegfreepress.com"Maybe we'll take back Washington, run it on the federal basis," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. Lewis George, who was canvassing at the time, released a video response within hours. "Threatening home rule because you don't like how residents are voting is an attack on democracy itself," Lewis George said.
Her main opponent, former councilmember Kenyan McDuffie, said Lewis George's platform would give Trump justification for intervention. "If you believe Donald Trump is a threat to DC's local autonomy, then the last thing we should do is elect someone whose agenda would make it easier for him to justify federal intervention," McDuffie told CNN.
Lewis George has criticized outgoing Mayor Muriel Bowser for seeking a middle ground with the administration. She has received support from Free DC, a group formed last year to advocate for home rule and statehood. "You don't stop Donald Trump by fearing him," Lewis George said in a statement to CNN.
DC has elected its own government since the Home Rule Act of 1973, though Congress retains the power to overturn local laws. Last August, Trump deployed National Guard troops and placed the city's police department under federal control for 30 days.
A Washington Post/Schar School poll released earlier this month found 50 percent of registered voters wanted Bowser to do more to oppose Trump. The same poll showed Lewis George leading McDuffie 32 percent to 25 percent among Democratic primary voters under ranked-choice voting, with 26 percent undecided.
