Washington, DC, Mayor Muriel Bowser mentioned Tuesday she is not going to run for reelection after 10 years main the nation’s capital and strolling a tremendous line with the Trump administration in current months as she sought to guard the town’s autonomy throughout a federal legislation enforcement surge.
“It has been the honor of my life to be your mayor. Together, we have built a legacy of success of which I am intensely proud,” she mentioned in a video posted to social media, touting a number of metropolis infrastructure initiatives.
In an interview with local news outlet NBC News4, Bowser, a Democrat, famous that she made the choice for her household, and mentioned it was time “to pass the baton onto the next set of leaders who are going to take our city to the next level.”
Bowser, who emerged as a main determine within the Democratic resistance throughout President Donald Trump’s first time period, has taken a completely different strategy in his second time period, repeatedly insisting that defending DC’s restricted autonomy was her “north star.”
During the legislation enforcement surge, the strategy drew criticism from some Democrats who felt that she ought to take a stronger stance and resist the administration’s techniques. She obtained reward from Trump, who known as DC a mannequin for different potential federal deployments in Democratic-led cities.
Earlier this yr, facing political pressure, Bowser introduced that Black Lives Matter Plaza could be eliminated, telling NCS on the time that “we have bigger fish to fry” and pointing towards the looming monetary and existential crises her metropolis instantly confronted beneath Trump.
Bowser’s announcement comes as some Republican lawmakers float reforming and even undoing DC’s Home Rule Act – a legislation that balances native self-governance with federal oversight within the capital. In her announcement, she didn’t point out Trump however did say she stood as much as bullies and preserved Home Rule.