Your D.C. budget breakdown

Hi there,

We're coming to you with a special newsletter: D.C. Budget Edition!

On Monday the D.C. Council gave initial approval to the 2026 budget, and the intrepid Martin Austermuhle has been following every detail for us. In June, he covered all of the changes the council sought to make to Mayor Muriel Bowser's budget – and now he's updating us on what got funded, what didn’t, and what’s left to happen. The council's second and final budget vote is on July 28, so stay tuned for the next two weeks.

And BTW – did you know Martin is a freelancer right now? We're currently raising money to hire him full-time by the end of the summer. If you've found his reporting helpful this budget season (or ever), please donate.

Read Martin's budget coverage:

Crunch time: What you need to know about the D.C. Council’s budget vote

Lawmakers advanced a budget that managed to salvage some funding for social programs. Changes could still come at a second vote later this month.

The 51stMartin Austermuhle

D.C. Council approves ranked-choice voting, rejects rollback of tipped wage law (for now)

There was plenty of action on two of D.C.’s ballot initiatives.

The 51stMartin Austermuhle