WHO HAS FINAL SAY IN DC: CONGRESS OR THE CFO? FOR $1,658.83

WHO HAS FINAL SAY IN DC: CONGRESS OR THE CFO? FOR $1,658.83

Based on the U.S. Constitution and recent legislative developments, Congress holds the ultimate legal authority over the District of Columbia, while the Supreme Court holds the final say on the interpretation of laws. The District Clause, found in Article I of the Constitution, empowered Congress to establish a federal capital district “not exceeding ten miles square” where it would “exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever.” Maya Efrati of Brennan Center for Justice in "DC Statehood, Explained" writes, "Congress continues to exercise extensive authority over DC’s budget, retaining the right under the Home Rule Act to review and nullify any legislation passed by the district’s local government, with important consequences for DC residents. For instance, Congress continues to block the district’s ability to regulate and tax the market for cannabis, which was legalized by DC voters in 2014. Congress for years blocked other important DC policies, including a needle-exchange public health program and health insurance coverage for domestic partnerships." President Donald Trump said, "I think that we should govern District of Columbia. It's so important, the D.C. situation. I think that we should run it strong, run it with law and order, make it absolutely, flawlessly beautiful, and I think we should take over Washington, D.C., make it safe." Mayor Muriel Bowser said, "Limited home rule gives the federal government the ability to intrude on our autonomy in many ways." Autonomy means the capacity for self-governance, allowing an individual or group to make their own decisions, act independently, and be self-directing, rather than being controlled by external forces, rooted in the Greek "auto" (self) and "nomos" (law). It's more than just independence, involving actions aligned with one's own values, reasoning, and sense of self, encompassing personal, moral, and political self-rule.  DC Autonomy is a Marxist, Utopian pursuit of the Radical Left. 

The Supreme Court (SCOTUS) reinforces the plenary authority of Congress over Washington, DC, established by the Constitution's District Clause. SCOTUS has affirmed that DC is not a state and its residents are not entitled to voting representation in Congress.  In 2021, SCOTUS affirmed a lower court ruling in Castañon v. United States, rejecting a bid for voting representation in Congress and cementing that DC residents lack voting rights in the House and Senate. The Supreme Court recognizes that Article I of the Constitution gives Congress "exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever" over the district.  Even if you don't like the Congress or the President. The lack of voting representation often spurs debate on DC statehood, which SCOTUS decisions to date have not facilitated, leaving Congress as the final authority on the District's status. The American Civil Liberties Union of the District of Columbia (ACLU-D.C.) admits, "Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed a lower court ruling in Castañon v. United States that denies D.C. residents voting representation in Congress. The ACLU of the District of Columbia joined a friend-of-the-court brief with several other public interest and civil rights organizations in support of the petitioner, Angelica Castañon, whose case challenged the lack of representation in Congress as violations of the equal protection and due process rights in the Constitution."

So DC drops the gauntlet on Congress, the Trump Administration, and the SCOTUS! Like a misguided hunter, they chase the rabbit of self-governance down the Utopia hole of Statehood. The Mayor and City Council raise their fists of Revolution. The raised, clenched fist is a universal symbol of revolution, solidarity, and resistance, representing power from below and defiance against oppression. It has been a key emblem for various movements, including socialism, the Black Power movement, feminism, and labor unions, serving as a salute to collective action, equality, and human rights. "We will not be shaken! We will not be moved!"  They pitch their demand for self-governance on the opinions of a DC Attorney General and a Chief Financial Officer. Speaking of making DC beautiful, the Trump Administration signed into law the One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA),  on July 4, 2025 (H.R. 1). A sweeping legislative package focusing on making 2017 tax cuts permanent, eliminating taxes on tips and overtime, expanding deductions, and funding border security. It aims to increase wages, boost manufacturing, and reduce energy costs, while funding these initiatives through spending cuts to programs like Medicaid and SNAP. Bowser and the DC Council are navigating a severe FY 2026 budget crisis—with a projected $1 billion gap—while attempting to shield essential services like Medicaid and SNAP from federal and local cuts. While opposing federal threats to Medicaid and advocating for local health programs, the Mayor has proposed a 6% cut to the Department of Human Services, affecting food, health, and housing support, causing tensions with the Council over budget priorities.

Key Aspects of the 2026 Budget Battle:

• Alliance and Health Care: The Council and advocates are fighting to protect the DC Health Care Alliance, which covers 28,000 residents not eligible for Medicaid. The proposed budget shifts 25,000 residents to a Basic Health Program with fewer benefits, such as reduced dental and vision coverage.
• SNAP and Nutritional Assistance: Advocates are pushing the Council to mitigate federal cuts to SNAP, warning that reduced funding will hurt the local economy and food access.
• TANF and Support Services: The Mayor proposed freezing TANF benefits and imposing stricter sanctions. However, the Council has moved to delay some of these cuts until FY 2027 to soften the impact.

Notice, these benefits are for residents. Residents in the District of Columbia include undocumented immigrants (often referred to as illegal aliens). Roughly 15.5% of DC residents are foreign-born, encompassing naturalized citizens, legal residents, and an undocumented population, totaling about 109,000 individuals as of 2024. These residents are considered part of the local community by the majority-ruling Radical Left, contributing to the economy and paying taxes.

Benjamin Franklin famously remarked, "We must, indeed, all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately," during the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. For the sake of illegal aliens, the Mayor and DC City Council feel the same way. Bombastically, they stand with those that stand opposed to the Trump Administration.

DC NBC4 reports, "D.C.’s chief financial officer will defy Congress and the White House and continue to enforce the local tax code as written by the D.C. Council.

President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act included tax breaks at the federal and state levels, and several states — some Republican, some Democratic — as well as D.C. decided to decouple and not implement some of those cuts.

But last month, Congress passed a disapproval resolution signed by Trump with the intent to force D.C. to follow the federal tax cuts, a move D.C. lawmakers warned would create chaos for taxpayers in the middle of tax season.

In a letter to the D.C. Council and the mayor Wednesday, CFO Glen Lee said he won’t follow Congress’ direction and will allow D.C.’s locally passed tax law to remain in effect, writing in part: “Therefore, without legislative action to repeal the emergency law, the Office of Tax and Revenue (OTR) will continue to process tax returns for tax year 2025 on the basis of that law.""

Several states—including California, New York, Illinois, and Pennsylvania—are decoupling from the federal "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" (OBBBA) of 2025 to avoid losing billions in annual tax revenue. By not conforming to federal changes like accelerated depreciation and business expense deductions, these states aim to protect their budgets, which often have balanced-budget requirements

• California: Decoupled due to a projected $3.2 billion annual cost, choosing to protect funds for public programs.
• New York: As a static conformity state, it requires adding back federal deductions for tips and overtime to protect over $1 billion in annual revenue.
• Illinois: Enacted legislation to add back tip or overtime deductions to avoid significant revenue loss.
• Pennsylvania: Decoupled from most business tax breaks to prevent a potential $700 million state revenue loss.
• Washington, DC: Decoupled to protect over $600 million in revenue, although Congress attempted to block this action.
• Other States: Massachusetts, Connecticut, Hawaii, Delaware, Maryland, Michigan, and Colorado have also chosen to decouple from various OBBBA provisions.

MediaBias/FactCheck rates WRC-TV – NBC Washington, also known as DC NBC4, as "a slight to moderate liberal bias." They continue, "Overall, we rate NBCWashington.com Left-Center Biased based on story selection that slightly favors the left. We also rate them High for factual reporting due to proper sourcing and a clean fact check record." Usually, however, in this news story there is a factual error: not one Red State decoupled. NOT ONE!

Why States Are Decoupling:

• Revenue Protection: The primary reason is preventing severe, unexpected budget shortfalls caused by federal tax breaks on corporate income and accelerated depreciation.
• Fiscal Stability: States are trying to maintain, or "decouple" from, their existing tax structures to ensure they can continue funding local services.
• Policy Preferences: Some states, like New Mexico, are choosing to reject specific federal provisions that favor large corporations, focusing instead on local fiscal policies. 

There are two major reasons the Democrat states are decoupling:

• They don't want to lower taxes for their fellow citizens
• They don't want to give Trump the win

Martin Austermuhle in the Marxist The 51st's "Congress didn’t actually repeal D.C. tax bill, says attorney general" wrote, "On Tuesday, D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb said that Congress had failed in its attempt this month to repeal a tax bill passed by the D.C. Council, raising the stakes in a fight between local and federal lawmakers over both tax policy and the technicalities of Congressional oversight of the city.

Schwalb’s legal opinion had been requested by D.C. Chief Financial Officer Glen Lee in the wake of House and Senate votes this month to disapprove of a bill that decoupled the city’s tax code from certain provisions of the federal tax code (and thus parts of the president’s signature tax cuts). The disapproval resolution – which was signed into law by President Trump last week – threatens to throw the current tax-filing season into chaos and would cost D.C. more than $650 million in lost revenue over the next four years.

But in a 12-page legal opinion, Schwalb said that Congress didn’t actually succeed in repealing the bill, both because of how Republicans wrote their disapproval resolution and how long it took them to get it through both the House and the Senate. "

DC Attorney General Brian Schawlb in a letter to Chief Financial Officer Glen Lee writes, "We note that for the vast majority of taxpayers, who pay taxes based on the calendar year, the continued validity of the Temporary Conformity Act is not, at present, expected to govern their 2026 tax liabilities. The Temporary Conformity Act is set to expire on September 25, 2026. At that time, absent further legislative action, the District’s tax code will revert to following the federal provisions from which theemergency and temporary acts “decoupled.”"

Gobbledygook about our tax years not matching up and our prior approval supercedes the One, Big Beautiful Bill. 

As of early March 2026, a significant dispute exists between the District of Columbia and the federal government regarding tax "decoupling"—the practice of not adopting federal tax cuts at the local level. I say as of July 4, 2025. President Trump signed H.J. Res. 142 on February 18, 2026, which formally disapproved the D.C. Council's temporary law (the "decoupling" act) that prevented 13 provisions of the federal "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" (OBBBA) from applying to local taxes. On February 24, 2026, D.C. Attorney General (AG) Brian Schwalb issued a formal legal opinion arguing that the Congressional disapproval resolution did not invalidate the District's tax law for the 2025 tax year. The AG stated that Congress failed to meet the 30-day review period deadline required by the Home Rule Act, as they calculated the period ended on February 11. Therefore, the AG concluded the disapproval "operates as an expression of Congress's unfavorable opinion... but not as a repeal". D.C. Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Lee, in a letter, stated that despite the federal action, his office would not have the unilateral authority to "re-couple" the tax code without new local legislation, allowing the decoupling to remain in effect for the 2025 tax year, though noting significant legal and financial risk The dispute means the 2025 tax season proceeds based on the local, decoupled law, but the situation is expected to lead to litigation. Bowser and Council Chairman Phil Mendelson argued that the federal intervention was an "intrusion on the District's Home Rule authority" that would create administrative chaos for tax filers.

I want to leave you with this. Approximately 361,700 people filed District of Columbia income tax returns in D.C. as of 2022, a decline from roughly 371,700 in 2019. While the number of filers dipped during the pandemic due to population loss, the figure remains close to 360,000, with over 314,000 of these returns reporting taxable income. $600 million dollars divided by 361,700 is $1,658.83. Do you feel $1,658.83 lighter. Ask Bowser and Mendelson. Ask PEPCO or Washington Gas if they will miss your $1,658.83. Ask Leroy at the corner if he will miss your $1,658.83 or will you be missing kneecaps?All for the sake of the Revolution!