Wilson Building Bulletin: To fight (Congress) or not to fight, that is the question

It’s been said that the best fights are the ones you avoid, and the D.C. Council may be taking that to heart.

The city’s lawmakers are quietly debating whether or not to challenge Congress on its attempt to repeal a tax bill passed by the council late last year. Should the repeal go through, tax-filing season for D.C. residents could be significantly messier than usual. But lawmakers and sources in the Wilson Building tell me there’s a grudging sense that picking a fight over the Republican resolution could provoke even bigger – and more harmful – fights in the future.

The bill in question decoupled D.C.’s tax code from some provisions of the federal tax code, largely to prevent a number of Trump’s cuts from applying to local taxes. D.C. lawmakers did this to save $658 million in revenue the city would have otherwise lost over the next four years, repurposing some of that funding to expand two local tax credits targeting moderate- and low-income residents.

Congressional Republicans didn’t take too kindly to what they saw as an affront to Trump’s signature tax cuts, so they moved to repeal D.C.’s bill – as they’re empowered to do with pretty much anything the council does. Such moves, known as disapproval resolutions, are supposed to clear both houses of Congress within a 30-day window, and in this case, some D.C. lawmakers and advocates say the Senate waited a day too long to act. 

Last week, Council Chairman Phil Mendelson said the tax bill had already become law, and it would apply to the current tax-filing season. But since then, city officials have quietly been discussing the political ramifications of D.C. essentially defying Congress. While there is simmering anger at Republicans on the Hill for once again interfering in plainly local legislation – on top of Trump’s move last year to take over MPD and deploy the National Guard – there’s also no consensus on whether taking up this particular fight right now is a good idea.

“I’m of the view that a deadline is a deadline,” says Mendelson, who has in the past argued that the 30-day window that Congress has to repeal D.C. bills means just that – 30 days. “But in my conversations [with councilmembers], there’s nervousness about risks.”

Most of those conversations have happened behind closed doors, including earlier this week, when councilmembers huddled in the Wilson Building to discuss how to proceed. I’m told there was a range of opinions: Some wanted to fight, others not. Ward 5 Councilmember Zachary Parker is in the latter camp.

“Thinking long-term and strategically, we have to look out for home rule and District residents as a whole. And the question comes back to, is any fight we wage today worth the ultimate risk of losing home rule?” he told me. “That’s not the same as saying throw in the towel anytime there is an affront to home rule or the District, but looking at the facts as they are… I’m not sure, as Trump would say, we have the cards.” 

Michael Thorning, an expert in congressional procedure at the Bipartisan Policy Center, doesn’t think D.C. has the cards either. “There’s a saying… Congress cannot build a mousetrap that it cannot itself get out of,” he tells me. 

Thorning says that while the Home Rule Act that Congress passed some 50 years ago lays out the 30-day review period for D.C. bills, it also more broadly gives federal lawmakers wide-ranging powers to do as they please in the city. “The Home Rule Act notwithstanding, Congress could pass a law at any time to legislate on behalf of the District,” he says.

Considering that, some think it’s best not to poke the bear over what's essential a fight over a timely technicality – especially now. Parker points out that there’s a bevy of bills on Capitol Hill that specifically target D.C., including one that would remove the city’s elected attorney general (and replace him with someone appointed by Trump) and another that would fully repeal home rule. 

There’s also a bill directly related to the current dispute: It would officially extend the congressional review period of all D.C. bills to 60 days and give Congress more direct veto power over even city regulations and mayoral orders. 

“I don’t think it’s worth us taking the gamble with home rule when there are upwards of 15 bills moving through Congress, we have a hostile president that seems to go unchecked with exerting authority and control, and there’s a range of perspectives across government around what the facts are,” says Parker.

But Ankit Jain, one of D.C.’s shadow senators, thinks the fight would be worth picking. 

“I think it is important that we do ensure the law is followed,” he says. “We have a very strong legal case, and I am confident we will win… I firmly believe that fighting for our rights will benefit this city more than meekly accepting an incorrect interpretation of the law in an attempt to appease out-of-state Republicans.”

Maybe. But the lack of consensus among the city’s elected leaders could ultimately be the reason the city doesn’t fight back. 

“I would feel differently if we were all marching [to the same tune] on our position," says Parker. "We are not on one page, which makes it even more risky."

In the meantime, tax-filing season is already underway, and, as of this week, more than 60,000 residents and 1,000 businesses had filed their local returns. But if the congressional repeal holds, filing may grind to a halt as the city rushes to rework forms for taxpayers and guidance for tax preparers.

And yes, there’s a chance that people who have already filed their taxes will have to file again.