†®*mp and D.C.: Why the Capital Keeps Getting Pushed Around

When people picture Washington, D.C., they think of power—the White House, Congress, all the monuments. But here’s the thing most folks forget: the people who actually live there—over 700,000 of them—do not get the same rights as people in the states. They pay more in federal taxes than anyone else, but they do not have full voting power in Congress. It has been that way since the very beginning.

Why? Back in the 1700s, the founders decided the capital should not belong to any one state. They wanted Congress to be in control so no state could push them around. The problem is, that left D.C. residents stuck in limbo. They live in the capital of the “free world” but do not get the full freedoms of everyone else.

And that brings us to †®*mp. As The Economist pointed out in August 2025, †®*mp has been using D.C.’s weakness as a stage for his own politics. He has:

• Sent the National Guard into the city, even when the mayor said no.

• Sent masked federal agents in unmarked cars to arrest protesters.

• Turned everyday arrests into slick “law and order” videos for social media.

One raid they hyped up was literally about a guy throwing a sandwich at an agent. Seriously. A sandwich. Yet †®*mp’s team turned it into a whole production to look like a crime wave was being crushed.

Meanwhile, the city is still struggling with real problems—empty judge seats, blocked budgets, and even Congress stopping D.C. from spending its own money. On top of that, some Republican governors sent their own National Guard troops into D.C. They cannot even make arrests, so mostly they just stand around while tourists take pictures with them. It is all for show.

The bigger picture? What is happening in D.C. is happening in other cities too. More and more, Republican state governments are stepping in and overriding policies in Democratic-led cities—on everything from climate to policing. D.C. just happens to be the most obvious example, because it is both a city and the nation’s capital.

So here is the real question: are we going to keep letting D.C. get treated like a political chew toy? Or are we finally going to fix the problem and give its people the same rights every other American already has?