Republican Funding Bill Could ‘Defund The Police’ In Washington, D.C.

City officials say a Republican bill to fund the federal government will force the city to lay off all manner of personnel, including police.

WASHINGTON — A government funding bill set to pass the Senate on Friday would force the city government here to slash its budget by about $1 billion, a cut city leaders say could force them to fire workers — including police officers.

Speaking outside the Capitol earlier this week, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) implored Republicans to reconsider the cut, which she described as a mistake.

“There’s no way to cut that kind of money in the time that we would have in this fiscal year not to affect police and not to affect teachers and not to affect some of the basic government services that allow us to keep our city clean, safe and beautiful,” D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) said Monday outside the Capitol.

The citizens of Washington, D.C. get to elect their own leaders, but ultimately Congress has authority over the city, and the government funding bill, which passed the House this week and has to clear the Senate by midnight Friday order to prevent a government shutdown, represents one of Republicans’ most dramatic incursions on home rule in years.

The mayor’s office said in a fact sheet the funding bill will require a 16% reduction to the city’s budget, and that the police department is one of 10 agencies making up 70% of the city’s spending, with personnel accounting for 90% of the Metropolitan Police Department budget.