Washington, D.C
DC leaders in budget panic, saying Congress bill would financially devastate the city – WTOP News
D.C. leaders were in a panic on Monday afternoon, sounding the alarm and saying the federal spending bill under consideration in Congress would be financially devastating to the city.
D.C. leaders were in a panic on Monday afternoon, sounding the alarm and saying the federal spending bill under consideration in Congress would be financially devastating to the city.
“It’s like taking a catastrophe and doubling it,” D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson said.
Over the weekend, House Republicans unveiled a bill that would keep federal agencies funded through Sept. 30, pushing ahead with a go-it-alone strategy that seems certain to spark a major confrontation with Democrats.
Congress must act by midnight Friday to avoid a partial government shutdown.
Under the bill, D.C. would be treated like a federal agency, and agencies would be required to return to their 2024 spending levels. That means if the bill were to pass as it’s written, the city would need to return to last year’s levels — effectively undergoing about $1 billion in cuts over the next six months.
“I can’t emphasize how serious this would be,” Mendelson said. “We are not a federal agency, we operate like a state. … It’s our money and it’s our revenue. This would not be savings to the federal government.”
Mendelson warned of severe impacts to services, including public safety, policing, fire response, public education and city cleanliness.
According to City Administrator Kevin Donahue, the cuts would likely trigger an immediate hiring freeze and layoffs affecting core services.
“To make the math work on that kind of cut with almost no warning, you have to immediately go to where your spending is, which is on people that deliver service,” Donahue said.
D.C. Shadow Rep. Oye Owolewa said in a statement Monday that residents in the District are at risk of losing crucial public services and “will continue to live under the thumb of the federal government,” until D.C. becomes a state.
City leaders stood outside the Capitol Building and urged Congress to amend the bill.
“Congress can fix this,” Mayor Muriel Bowser said. “They can fix this $1.1 billion problem that we have brought to their attention.”
The bill would provide a slight boost to defense programs while trimming nondefense programs below 2024 budget year levels. That approach is likely to be a nonstarter for most Democrats, who have long insisted that defense and nondefense spending move in the same direction.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., is teeing up the bill for a Tuesday vote, despite the lack of buy-in from Democrats, essentially daring them to vote against it and risk a shutdown.
It was not immediately clear whether Johnson and other Republican leaders were considering any changes in response to concerns raised by the District.
“If Congress goes through with this action, it will work against a priority that President Trump and I share, and that is to make Washington, D.C., the best, most beautiful city in the world,” Bowser said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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WASHINGTON (DC News Now) — A Texas man accused of shooting at a United States Secret Service agent near the Washington Monument earlier this month has been indicted on federal charges, the Justice Department announced Friday.
A federal grand jury indicted 45-year-old Michael Marx with “assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers using a dangerous weapon” and “using, carrying, possessing, brandishing, and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence,” in connection with the May 4 incident, in which a stray bullet struck a teenage bystander.
“Today’s indictment reflects the gravity of the defendant’s actions on one of the most heavily visited public spaces in the nation,” U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said Friday, in part. “The evidence shows Marx not only carried an illegal firearm into DC, but he fired it at uniformed officers, wounding an innocent teenage bystander who was simply visiting the National Mall with his family on a spring afternoon.”
Authorities previously charged Marx with assaulting federal officers with a dangerous weapon, using and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence, and unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
According to court documents, an undercover Secret Service agent initially noticed Marx trying to conceal a gun on the right side of his body near 15th Street and Madison Drive NW shortly after 3:30 p.m. on the afternoon of the shooting.
At the same time, the motorcade for Vice President J.D. Vance was leaving the White House, passing through the area just up the street.
Uniformed Secret Service officers arrived to provide backup, finding Marx along the path of Vance’s motorcade. The attorney’s office said officers began to give the Texas man verbal commands, but he started running through a crosswalk and eventually fired at one of the agents as he reached the sidewalk.
The bullet struck the teenage bystander, who was walking behind the agent, in the leg, according to the DOJ.
Agents quickly returned fire, striking Marx in the hand, left arm, and upper body, according to court documents.
Court documents state that agents used Marx’s Texas driver’s license, which he was carrying, to identify him as the gunman. Investigators also identified various aliases Marx allegedly went by, including Patrick Michael and Michael Zavici.
While in the hospital, he allegedly made statements to officers, including ”F— the White House,” and “kill me, kill me, kill me,” the DOJ noted in a release.
Police found a Sig Sauer P365 handgun loaded with 9mm ammunition from the street where Marx fell.
4 things to know about the weather:
- Abundant sunshine
- Temps slightly cooler than average
- No rain in sight — again
- Mid-week warmup
May is drawing to a dry, comfortable close, in stunning contrast to the very soggy Memorial Day weather we saw last weekend.
That 10-day stretch of rain put a definite dent in our drought, according to the weekly national drought monitor, but it seems that was the end of the improvement for a while: There’s almost no clouds in sight for the DMV for several days.
Enjoy the many hours of sunshine on Saturday. The high pressure coming in from the Hudson Bay brings a stiff north wind, but the day will also be sunny and comfortable, with highs in the mid 70s.
Download the NBC Washington app on iOS and Android to check the weather radar on the go.
The wind will die down after dark, and Sunday morning will be bordering on chilly. Expect widespread mid/upper 40s in most of the D.C. area, with urban centers and bayside communities staying just above 50°. Sunday afternoon will be just a bit warmer, in the mid 70s, but with far less of a breeze.
Highs will be back around 80° for Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, with overnight lows in the comfy 50s. It’ll be a perfect start to meteorological summer (June/July/August).
QuickCast
TODAY:
Sunshine Abounds, Breezy
Wind: North 10-15mph, Gust to 25 mph
Chance of Rain: 0%
HIGHS: 70° to 75°
TONIGHT:
Clear Skies
Winds Diminish
Wind: Northwest 10-15 mph
Chance Of Rain: 0%
LOWS: 46° to 54°
SUNDAY:
Mostly Sunny Skies
Pleasant Conditions
Light Breeze
Wind: NW 5 – 10 mph
Chance of Rain: 0%
HIGHS: 70° to 76°
MONDAY:
Partly Cloudy
Seasonable
Light Breeze
Wind: West/Northwest 10 mph
Chance of Rain: 0%
HIGHS: 76° to 82°
Sunrise: 5:45 Sunset: 8:26
Average High: 80° Average Low: 63°
Stay with Storm Team4 for the latest forecast. Download the NBC Washington app on iOS and Android to get severe weather alerts on your phone.
WASHINGTON – A man is in critical condition after falling into the Anacostia River in Southwestern Washington, D.C., Friday night.
What we know:
D.C. Fire and EMS reported the rescue effort shortly after 10 p.m. at James Creek Marina in Buzzard Point.
Crews believe a man fell from the dock into the water.
By 10:30 p.m., crews were able to pull the man out of the water.
Paramedics took him to the hospital in critical condition.
What we don’t know:
Officials did not identify the man who was rescued. No other information was immediately available.
The Source: Information in this story is from the D.C. Fire and EMS Department.
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