September 13, 2025

I first came to Washington, D.C., for the summer of 1992 when I was still in law school. After graduating in 1993, I began my legal career at a law firm near Metro Center on 14th Street. Over time, I built a practice that was uniquely Washington, D.C. Representing the Democratic Party, members of the House and Senate and nonprofit groups, I came to know Washington D.C., from the inside of its leading industry — politics.

Early in my career, an old-time lawyer told me that Washington, D.C., was a company town and that its headquarters was not on Pennsylvania Avenue but rather at the corner of First and East Capitol. That is also where the District’s funding and support has historically resided. It is Congress — not presidents — that the Constitution gives the power to regulate the District.

Yet, under Donald Trump, it feels like that has changed.

Every day we wake up to another terrifying news alert. The Trump administration is targeting immigrants. It's attacking our elections. The National Guard is descending on our cities, including Washington, D.C. 

But recently, communities in the District have been using their voices in protest. Last Saturday, thousands of people marched through the nation's capital, chanting two words: “free D.C.” 

As the Trump administration overstays its welcome in D.C.’s government and threatens to impose itself on other cities...