So, what the heck happened with ERAP yesterday? Basically, DHS ditched its online portal, designed to avoid long lines. A crush of demand somehow surprised the agency and overwhelmed its systems, despite years of similar experiences. Now lawmakers wrestle with the fallout: wamu.org/story/25/11/...

Some 2026 intrigue: There's a new effort to "draft" Mayor Muriel Bowser to run for a fourth term backed by Opportunity DC, the political group assembled by the Federal City Council/other business interests. "One more time!" urges the petition on the site: draftmurielbowser.com

Seems like DYRS is turning to a shuttered juvenile detention facility in Maryland to help address capacity issues at YSC...and @aclu-dc.bsky.social is not happy about it. Lawmakers have been raising alarms about the persistent rise in the youth jail's population these last few years.

VA Rep. James Walkinshaw leading a @freedcproject.bsky.social rally at the Capitol against bills interfering with DC criminal justice bills. He observes most of his colleagues only see the city on the drive “from their apartments in Navy Yard to the Capitol complex.”

More 2026 candidate news! ANC1B Chair Miguel Deramo has filed in Ward 1, the sixth candidate in that race: miguelward1.com Gloria Nauden has also filed in Ward 6. Interestingly, she's been involved in Trayon White's campaigns in the past.

Oops! DC's housing/development agency forfeited ~$35m in federal money after bailing out a project helmed by Green Teamer Buwa Binitie. Suzie Amanuel aptly shows how this was conveniently left out of the debate on the housing market for the RENTAL Act: washingtoncitypaper.com/article/7742...

McDuffie isn't slamming Bowser's work with Trump, but he's also clear he would stop MPD from working with ICE/limit cooperation with the feds. "Who wants to live in a city that is constantly under siege by federal law enforcement?... I don't want to be mayor of a city like that"

On The Politics Hour, At-Large CM Kenyan McDuffie says he's given "serious thought" to running for mayor and that he's "not making a decision based on what others are gonna do" aka he's not waiting on Bowser's move...

I never thought I'd have a councilmember quoting Carly Simon lyrics to me for a story...but agency overspending has been making everyone in the Wilson Building a bit loopy. Why can't the city control its costs? And where is all this money going? I tried to unpack it all: wamu.org/story/25/11/...

A little 2026 news: @cmcharlesallen.bsky.social has filed to run for reelection in Ward 6. There was some speculation he'd pursue a bid for higher office next year, but that fizzled recently. Now he'll make a try for a fourth term.

Clearly, Bowser thinks this inside look at how she handled Trump vindicates her approach...but if we get new videos every day of ICE patrolling with MPD to deport people, is it having the effect she hoped? Not helping that she gets defensive about it at every turn:

I was searching for some historical precedent for this last week, and a helpful source helped me find one: Tommy Wells and Yvette Alexander considered party switches in 2014: www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/mike-d... But neither ever did, so we still have no clear answer on how this would work.

Since Bowser's 2023 trip is back in the news, I went through an old FOIA I filed on it. Interesting to note that Bowser's people initially told the Qataris they'd pay their own way: wonder what changed? Also amusing to note Bowser dined with Bloomberg and Fenty in the UAE...

This whole story is very weird. As some Green Teamers have observed to me, Bowser wouldn't need bribes to be close to Qatar: Her pal, Vinoda Basnayake, already lobbies for them a ton. Ex-chief of staff John Falcicchio worked with Qatari investors. What is the quid pro quo here?

Here’s our full story on this: wamu.org/story/25/11/... The lingering question: does Lewis George getting in help push Bowser to run again? Or is she headed for the exits no matter what? We should know in a few weeks…

New: The DC Council seems to have averted budget catastrophe AND funded its long-sought-after child tax credit at the same time. The city is poised to offer up to $1k per child for low- and middle-income families, a move @cmzparker5.bsky.social has pushed to combat poverty: wamu.org/story/25/11/...

News: Ward 4 Councilmember Janeese Lewis George has started telling people she’s running for mayor, per several sources, confirming months of speculation about her political future. She’d be the first major candidate to declare for 2026. Now the question: what will Bowser do?

McDuffie is out with a statement: "At no point have I discussed, nor asked anyone on my behalf to discuss" the party switch idea. Says my story is "premised on an unfounded rumor." Though I disagree it "lacks factual basis," considering Bonds' spox admitted this has come up...

Some major staff changes for Bowser: Lindsey Parker moves from chief of staff to Beverly Perry's old job as senior adviser; Tomas Talamante, Parker's deputy who's led Council lobbying efforts, takes over as chief. Brian Hanlon, the head of DOB, will lead RFK development.

New: Could Kenyan McDuffie and Anita Bonds swap party affiliations? I hear they've discussed the option, which would allow McDuffie to become a Democrat and therefore keep his council seat if he runs for mayor. It might be the clearest sign yet he's prepping a 2026 bid: wamu.org/story/25/11/...

Darrell Green is running for DC Council. No, not the football player. (He lives in Virginia.) But a Republican with the same name has filed for the at-large seat. Maybe sharing a name with a living DC legend will help overcome the stigma GOP candidates face...

SNAP news: Bowser says she'll use about $30 mil in contingency funds to ensure SNAP/WIC recipients get paid in November. She did something similar in the last long shutdown. Just yesterday she said she was waiting on the AG's lawsuit!

Here's a transcript of Smith's full comments. I get what she's saying (ie, this wasn't an order from the chief not to put the shooting in the report) but the q she's not answering: why would that officer suggest that? Wouldn't this unusual situation demand unusual transparency?

MPD Chief Pam Smith just called the allegation that a superior told an MPD officer not to disclose the shooting "very misleading" and repeatedly slammed the Post. Her distinction seems to be that another officer (not someone in the command structure) suggested omitting the shooting...

Contrast this on-the-ground approach with Bowser's, shall we say, dismissive approach to residents' concerns about ICE. Even McDuffie (for the first time) criticized immigration agents working alongside MPD. Sure seems like some (potential) mayoral hopefuls see where the wind is blowing...

More 2026 news! We have our first declared candidates in Ward 6 (Michael Murphy) and Ward 5 (Jeffrey Kihien-Palza): they'll likely be facing off with incumbents Charles Allen/Zachary Parker. Murphy has been "exploring" a bid for a while on a tough-on-crime platform similar to the recall Allen push.

He said he has nothing to share, but it looks like his campaign website is online (with a kickoff event scheduled for Nov. 13) actionnetwork.org/events/ed-fo...

Some Ward 1 news: I've heard from several sources Ed Lazere, ex-Council candidate and longtime progressive activist, is gearing up for a 2026 bid. Crucially, I also hear he'll pursue the DSA endorsement: which could get complicated with DSA organizer Aparna Raj also running.

2026 news: Candace Tiana Nelson is jumping into the at-large race, a development I've heard rumors about for months. She's the former CoS to Janeese Lewis George/Ward 4 Democrats president, joining Oye Owolewa in the race (perhaps against Anita Bonds, if she runs again?)

Activists and lawyers representing the man shot at by a federal agent patrolling with MPD called on the department to explain why the incident was omitted from a police report/BWC footage withheld. They also want Council to demand answers: they say have yet to hear from them.

New: The first serious primary challenge to Eleanor Holmes Norton is shaping up to be a Robert White v. Brooke Pinto slugfest. Is the city looking for a moderate who can negotiate with Congress on crime? Or does it need a native Washingtonian who’s willing to throw bombs? wamu.org/story/25/10/...

It's Reddit, so take it with a grain of salt, but: sure seems like there's another poll in the field testing McDuffie vs. Lewis George for the mayor's race. The framing is about what you'd expect...

How's this for consistency: About a year to the day after Phil Mendelson held a lobbyist-packed fundraiser for his constituent service fund at the Watergate, he's doing it again! One Kenyan McDuffie, who has been in the news a bit, is special guest... washingtoncitypaper.com/article/7522...

I believe I saw the same group of cars (MPD up front, ICE/HSI in the middle) drive down my block that night and I'm just a few streets over from this. Just another data point as the heat turns up on Bowser to explain how and why MPD is still working with ICE...

New: DC is cutting pay rates for childcare workers to keep its pay equity fund under budget. But pretty much no one is happy about it. Most of the Council hates this idea. And daycare workers certainly do. So why is this happening, and what could anyone do about it? wamu.org/story/25/10/...

I've heard so many people ask over the last few months: Whatever happened to that $1.1 billion Congress wouldn't let DC spend this spring? Many assume that money is still sitting around somewhere, but it's not! DC actually spent pretty much all of it. I found out how: wamu.org/story/25/10/...

As the Council's tussle with Bowser over agency overspending continues, here's City Administrator Kevin Donahue's response. In short: overspending isn't as bad as it'd seem, and the Council shares the blame, he says. Skeptical this will go over well... www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...

Bonds' amendment just passed 9-4: Nadeau, Frumin, Lewis George, and T. White were the no votes. So the odds would not seem great for JLG's amendment, which is up now.

Hey, the Council is taking this up ~again~ today. And @urbaninstitute has some very interesting research showing that 2-4 unit buildings make up the majority of all TOPA transactions! A very far cry from assurances that this would be a minimal change... www.urban.org/urban-wire/d...

As the federal layoffs continue and the shutdown stretches on, the news for DC's economy hasn't been all bad But there are problems on the horizon, particularly as the One Big Beautiful Bill's tax/safety net cuts loom. What should city officials do? There's one main option: wamu.org/story/25/10/...

Remember Intralot, the company behind DC's troubled sports betting? It's also run the city's lottery system for years...at least it used to. Its attempts to win a renewal via $67m contract have now twice been rejected. Industry giant Scientific Gaming is in line to win instead.

This report from @ccefordc.bsky.social is yet another flashing red light about conditions at DC's youth jail. www.courtexcellence.org/news-items/y... In short, the facility's way over capacity because DC can't find enough treatment facilities to transfer out the increasing # of kids tried as adults

Big settlement here: Petra is one of several companies to use this "reverse voucher discrimination," targeting voucher tenants to get around rules limiting rents at these properties. But the city is still playing whack-a-mole until it makes reforms: washingtoncitypaper.com/article/7573...

Good-sized haul for the only declared candidate in the at-large race (though I've heard rumors about more coming soon). Notable donors include ex-AG Karl Racine, a few members of the State Board of Education, longtime Ward 8 activist Phil Pannell...

Ex-DOJ official Kinney Zalesne has made a big part of her delegate campaign that she can fundraise, and her report today proves that. But Pinto says she's raised $300k+, so both will have $ to raise their profiles. Can Robert White keep up? He has the early name ID advantage: how long will it last?

Rashida Brown has launched her Council candidacy in Ward 1. As expected, it's with Nadeau's support: www.washingtoninformer.com/rashida-brow... This race is getting crowded: I hear Jackie Reyes-Yanes, a Bowser admin vet, is also filing papers soon to make her bid official. wamu.org/story/25/10/...

New: Mayor Bowser is seriously considering turning down a bid for a fourth term. She's discussed the prospect with her allies in recent days. Several have described it as a 50-50 chance she runs again. This would be a huge shift for a mayoral race defined by the incumbent: wamu.org/story/25/10/...

Here's the results: It was conducted by a coalition of labor unions, many of which supported Bowser in '22, and they found very worrying numbers for her. 53% say she's not doing a good job as mayor and she loses 59-40 (!) against a generic challenger. www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...

Ward 8 CM Trayon White has introduced his first batch of bills since rejoining the Council. He's reviving ticket amnesty/anti-displacement initiatives: lims.dccouncil.gov/Legislation/... lims.dccouncil.gov/Legislation/... And trying to set up a new Ward 8 BID! lims.dccouncil.gov/Legislation/...

It's campaign finance report day! We're getting our first numbers now that we've had a lot of movement in 2026 races. Only one online so far is @aparnafordc.bsky.social and her numbers are quite something: $29k from DC donors, which means she will easily qualify for the 5x matching funds.