D.C. looks very different today than it did two years ago, when Mayor Muriel Bowser last sat before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

There were no National Guardsmen deployed around the city, patrolling its landmarks and picking up trash in its parks, when she testified in May 2023 . And the District was in the midst of a crime spike, with homicides and carjackings at alarmingly high rates, as some in Congress saw firsthand .

“When I was last here, I explained how we would drive down those trends, and it is working,” Bowser told the committee on Thursday.

Joined by D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson and Attorney General Brian Schwalb, the mayor made her case, striking a careful balance as she tries to ward off further Republican intervention in local affairs.

Des

See Full Page