Republicans, led by Trump, made criticism of the district a familiar talking point on the campaign trail. They criticized soaring crime rates in the years following the pandemic, including incidents that some members of Congress and their staff have experienced firsthand. In the last Congress, members from both the House and Senate introduced bills that would repeal home rule, which grants D.C. independence in governing its own affairs, justifying the move as necessary to get the city back on the “right track.”

There is a growing sense of urgency among D.C.’s shadow officials — senators and representatives in Congress who don’t have any voting power — that they need to have a plan to push for statehood in place for whenever Democrats return to power.

“I think the next two years, the focus is going to be on defending home rule,” shadow Sen.-elect Ankit Jain told the Washington Examiner, “but I think we need to continue to work on statehood because there’s going to be another election for Congress in two years and for president in four years, and when we have a better Congress and a better president, I want to make sure we’re ready to seize the opportunity to pass statehood.”

“D.C. will be in the spotlight nationally over the next few years because I do expect the national Republicans to really try to attack us, take away our rights,” he added. 

Jain and his other local colleagues in Congress, such as shadow Sen. Paul Strauss, shadow Rep. Oye Owolewa, and Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, plan on taking the lessons from the 2024 election of how Republicans successfully used media to persuade voters for their own purposes, launching a campaign to convince people that federal involvement in the district is an overreach and unnecessary. 

National Republicans have floated ideas such as federalizing the district, saying, “We’re going to federalize it. We’re gonna have the toughest law enforcement in the country.”

They’ve suggested the National Guard be brought in to address crime in the city, which is trending downward this year after three years of high rates. Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) has led the charge on increasing federal involvement in the district, introducing a bill that would repeal home rule in the 118th Congress and planning the same for the next. 

“Sadly, the radical politicians who run D.C. are a national embarrassment, from allowing criminals to victimize innocent people to letting foreign citizens vote in local elections,” a spokesperson for Lee told the Washington Examiner. “Congress should step in to restore common sense governance in “America’s hometown.”

While many D.C. officials and advocates, such as Jain, are convinced these promises will come to fruition or be something they’ll have to spend considerable time and resources fighting against, other officials are hoping for a more collaborative relationship with Congress and the White House. 

“The conversation has been frustrating because it’s based on speculation. As we all know, there’s a difference between campaign rhetoric and reality, right?” D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson told the Washington Examiner. “Where I hope we, all of us, will be focusing is on issues that we’re all concerned about, such as public safety and affordable housing and quality education.”

Mendelson stressed that downplaying possible threats to his constituents isn’t what he’s hoping to do. He sees a lot of common ground between the Council of the District of Columbia and Congress.

Previously, Congress exerted its legislative authority over D.C. policies when it overrode local lawmakers’ attempts to update the city’s criminal code in 2022. The matter became so nationalized that President Joe Biden made a statement saying if Congress overrode the Council’s approval of the new code, he wouldn’t veto it. 

Now, Jain wants the Council to avoid matters that could provoke the ire of Republicans sensitive to public safety concerns.

“I don’t think we should, like, totally clip our wings and not move anything that could potentially be subject to attack by out-of-state Republicans,” Jain said, “But it probably would make sense for the Council to think a little bit before they introduce anything.”

When asked if he plans to change legislation the Council will consider in the face of a Republican trifecta, he said, “I don’t plan on resubmitting the revised criminal code over the next couple years.”

Instead, he plans to promote positive news coming out of the district in hopes of staving off some of the federal overreach that’s been bandied about. 

“In spite of some of the hostile rhetoric, we have a very good story to tell,” Mendelson said.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has also shown a friendlier face to Trump and the incoming Republican majorities than other deep-blue areas of the country. While Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) is working to “Trump-proof” the state’s progressive policies related to climate and healthcare, Bowser has said she prefers to work with the incoming administration if possible.

“We know that we can work together with President Trump to live up to our shared promise, and that is to ensure that Washington, D.C., remains the best city in the world. … I’ve worked with three presidents – including President-Elect Trump – and congressional leaders of both parties to advance the priorities of the District,” Bowser said at a news conference after the election results handed Trump the White House. 

Both Bowser and Mendelson have voiced agreement with Trump’s promise to bring federal workers back to their offices downtown. In the first few days of Bowser’s third term, she called on the federal government to mandate in-person work in an effort to revitalize downtown. Mendelson also said this requirement would help address a “weak area” for the district. 

Trump has said he’s behind making this happen, as have other Republican leaders in Congress. 

“Bureaucrats have been found in a bubble bath, on the golf course, running their own business, and even getting busted doing crime while on taxpayers’ time. Members of President Biden’s own cabinet claimed to be on the clock while being out of office and unreachable,” said Sen. Joni Ernst’s (R-IA) report on remote work in the government.

It’s a priority for Trump’s new initiative, the Department of Government Efficiency, which will be led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy. They’ve also threatened to reduce the size of the federal workforce as a whole.