After massive marches took place around the country for Labor Day showcasing workers’ resistance to Trumpian fascism, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser went a different direction on Tuesday, doubling down on her support for the federal occupation of the nation’s capital.
The mayor issued an executive order requiring local agencies and law enforcement to continue coordinating with President Donald Trump’s occupying federal forces on an indefinite basis, past the 30-day emergency period, due to end on Sept. 10.
This comes as the Trump government readies a military occupation of Chicago and Baltimore as its next targets, even though a federal judge has ruled that the administration’s domestic military incursions illegal.
The Republican Party and MAGA have already been exploiting the D.C. mayor’s pro-occupation comments from her press conference last week, which welcomed the federal forces and increase in arrests. After major community pushback, Bowser partially changed her tone, demanding that the federal agents identify themselves and to not wear masks.
Her latest order has again sparked outrage among D.C. residents, with some even calling for her resignation and for a recall campaign to be launched to remove her from office.
Over one hundred D.C. community organizations sent a letter to Bowser’s office demanding she “immediately denounce the attempted federal takeover, insist on an end to the Trump troop surge, defend D.C. residents from abuse by police and ICE, enforce D.C.’s Sanctuary Values Act, and demand that D.C.’s autonomy be respected.”
After a private meeting with D.C. councilmembers last week, Bowser seemed to be inching toward a united front with the council to not comply with the fascist Trump administration, but over the weekend, things must have changed.
Trump, at a press conference on Tuesday, praised the mayor once again for collaborating with his administration and said he wants to use the D.C. occupation as a template for incursions in other cities.
By appeasing Trump and even breaking local D.C. law by collaborating with federal immigration enforcement (i.e. Sanctuary Values Act), Mayor Bowser is making it much harder for D.C. to protect itself and fight against the federal takeover.
Why would Democratic members of Congress support a resolution calling for the termination of Trump’s takeover if the African American Democratic mayor is seemingly welcoming the terrorism in their city?
How can the D.C. Attorney General sue the federal government to end the federalization of the District if the mayor and police chief are both openly collaborating and showing public support for it?
How can D.C. defend Home Rule if its leadership is actively undermining it?
It is time for D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser to step aside and allow her constituents and other elected officials to defend the city from this fascist takeover and stop Trump’s march to dictatorship.
Polls show that 80% of D.C. residents oppose the occupation. They want leaders who will stand up to the Trump government, not collaborators with MAGA fascism.
As with all op-eds published by People’s World, the views represented here are those of the author.
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