Dollars and nonsense: House Republicans vote to defund D.C. police and schools

It was only a few years ago that Republicans accused Democrats of wanting to defund the police. But on Tuesday afternoon, House Republicans seemed to do just that in D.C. – and much more.

The House approved a federal spending bill that could force D.C.’s local officials to cut more than $1 billion out of the city’s current $21.2 billion budget, a move that city leaders warn would prompt a hiring freeze, result in likely government layoffs, and potentially “decimate” services for residents and visitors – including police and schools. 

After the vote, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said the spending bill – which still requires Senate approval – was "senseless, reckless and would have devastating consequences for our nation’s capital," while D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton lambasted it as “fiscal sabotage.” Other critics said the cuts were an unwise and unnecessary imposition by House Republicans on the city’s local budget and needs, and one that will produce no federal savings but plenty of local harm.

The potential damage comes by way of Congress’s long standing inability to pass annual federal budgets on time. The bill passed on Tuesday on party lines is known as a continuing resolution, which keeps funding for federal agencies at the same level as the previous fiscal year. 

In years past, D.C. was allowed to spend according to the annual balanced budgets that Bowser and the D.C. Council formulate and pass. (Those budgets are funded by locally raised revenue.) But in the text of the bill that was unveiled over the weekend, Republicans opted instead to treat D.C. the same as a federal agency, freezing funds and thus forcing the city to revert to its fiscal year 2024 budget – even as the city has been operating under its larger fiscal year 2025 budget since last October. 

The move caused a sudden panic on Monday, as D.C.’s elected leaders scrambled to explain to Republicans what the change would mean for the city’s existing budget – and the services and workers it pays for. “The impact is on public safety, on public education, on the cleanliness of our city, on housing, on dealing with homelessness,” said Council Chairman Phil Mendelson.

According to Bowser’s office, reverting to the last year’s budget levels would force D.C. to cut 16% out of what it is currently spending. Per initial estimates from the council, D.C.’s public and charter schools would have to quickly trim some $350 million from their budgets, while the Metropolitan Police Department would have to cut $67 million. D.C. Fire & EMS would need to slash $42 million in spending, while the Department of Human Services – which handles homelessness and other social services – would be on the hook for $28 million in cuts.

D.C.’s ability to modernize schools and recreation centers could also be impacted, with city officials estimating that they’d have to slash some $600 million from the capital budget. It could also imperil D.C.’s contribution to  funding  Metro. Even D.C. Water would be impacted, saying in a statement that cutting $51 million from its budget “would require slashing critical investments in infrastructure and maintenance and the people who are necessary to provide safe, reliable drinking water and sewer services to the nation’s most iconic landmarks and critical facilities including: the White House, the United States Capitol, the Supreme Court, the Pentagon, two international airports, and 177 sovereign embassies.”

City officials said they would be forced to impose an immediate hiring freeze, followed by likely layoffs across the government. “When you have a budget that is 85% personnel, and that personnel is focused on residents and delivering services, almost by definition to make the math work… you have to go to where your spending is, which is on people who deliver services,” said City Administrator Kevin Donahue. 

The potential cuts and layoffs would impact issues that Republicans have long said they support, including police and charter schools. And they would also work against goals that Bowser says she shares with President Donald Trump. 

“I can’t imagine why anybody would want to have less public safety resources on the street. I can’t imagine why anybody would want us to take money away from our schools,” said Bowser at a press conference on Monday afternoon. “If the Congress goes through with this, it will go against a priority that President Trump and I share: To make D.C. the most beautiful city in the world.”

The move by congressional Republicans also left local officials scratching their heads: Was this a simple drafting error, or a purposeful attempt to inflict harm on left-leaning D.C.? Republicans have often taken aim at D.C., whether in limiting what the city can do with its money or going as far as to propose doing away with the city’s elected government. But there were also hints this week that Republican leaders were unaware of the actual extent of the impacts of their proposal.

“We’re not taking anything that affects the day to day operation of municipal services,” said Rep. Tom Cole (R-Oklahoma), who chairs the House Appropriations Committee. He added that D.C. would at most see “minor reductions” in spending, a point local officials vigorously contest. (Cole’s office did not respond to questions seeking clarification.) 

“I would say it’s an ‘Oopsie!’ if no one was pointing out the real implications,” said At-Large Councilmember Christina Henderson to The 51st. “We have been saying, ‘If this is a mistake, cool.’ But if this is intentional, how crazy is it to cripple the public safety functions in the nation’s capital? This is a very easy fix. They are creating a crisis that didn’t need to be there and could be easily fixed with two sentences. Why double down on something that will cost the nation’s capital more than a billion dollars for nothing more than a mistake?”

An attempt by Norton to amend the spending bill to clarify that D.C. could continue spending its 2025 budget failed on Monday afternoon.

“D.C. residents pay an awful lot of taxes, more per capita than any other state. Many serve in the military, they are American citizens. It is rotten how they are treated, and this bill is something that piles on,” said Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Massachusetts). “D.C. passed a balanced budget, but now Republicans are blowing up their budget with no warning. It’s shameful and regrettable.”

What happens next, though, remains unclear. The spending bill heads to the Senate, which has to act by Friday – or risk a federal government shutdown. Some Democratic senators have expressed reservations with blocking the bill for that reason, but Henderson says that for D.C.’s sake, they should.

“I don’t ever want to encourage a government shutdown,” she said. “If the feds were to shut down and it gives the Congress time to stop and think about what they are doing to D.C., then OK.”

In the wake of the vote, Ward 5 Councilmember Zachary Parker urged residents to call senators to ask them to address the funding issue in the bill.

Should the Senate pass the spending bill, though, D.C. officials will have to start quickly cutting spending – and potentially delay their formulation of the 2026 budget, a process that’s expected to start next month.