DC to implement freeze on hiring, overtime as it prepares for massive budget cuts
Overtime will be frozen starting April 27.
The changes come after the House failed to pass the DC Local Funds Act before recessing last week.
DC mayor sends letter to Congress to increase District budget by 6%
The legislation was intended to be a budget fix after Congress passed a spending plan in March that reverted D.C. back to its 2024 budget, effectively cutting the District's budget by $1 billion immediately.
The District was able to find a budget workaround under a 2009 law that allows it to increase its spending in some cases by notifying Congress. That will limit the impact to about $410 million.
'I can only tell you have frustrating it is,' said Mayor Muriel Bowser. 'Immediately, we will limit spending in the government. I will notify all mayoral agencies, and we will be earnestly planning a revised 2025 budget that reflects those changes.'
On Tuesday, the Mayor sent out an order titled 'Extraordinary Measures to Address Congressionally-Imposed Cuts to the District's Fiscal Year 2025 Budget.'
According to the order, hiring for all executive branch agencies is frozen. However, individuals who received a written job offer on or before April 14 and have a confirmed start date before May 5 are exempt. It's unclear how many open positions this will impact.
Congress unveils spending bill that includes funding for Francis Scott Key Bridge rebuild
Overtime will be frozen starting on April 27, with no agencies, including the Metropolitan Police Department, DC Fire and EMS or the Office of Unified Communications, specifically exempt.
In the meantime, the City Administrator will draft a plan for employee furloughs and the closure of government facilities. That plan will be presented to the Mayor by April 25. Some facilities, including DC Public Schools, St. Elizabeth's Hospital, shelters and more, are exempt.
Employees will not be paid while furloughed.
The order also states that the City Administrator may take additional actions, including 'early termination of contracts, leases, grants and agreements; reductions in force and other employee layoffs; and reductions to any other category of expenditures,' if deemed appropriate.
Agencies can submit waivers requesting an exemption from the overtime restrictions and other freezes outlined in the order. Those will be considered on a rolling, case-by-case basis.
Officials, advocates urge House to pass DC Local Funds Act to restore budget
The City Administrator will submit a supplemental budget to the council for approval. That is expected sometime after April 25.
City officials said the plan must be in place by July 1, but that cuts, closures and furloughs could happen before that.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Los Angeles Times
31 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
Colbert, Trump, Epstein and the art of capitulation
A suggested title for any upcoming films, books or TV series that are set in the dog days of 2025? 'The Summer I Learned to Capitulate.' July is shaping up to be a bend-the-knee month like no other, and that's quite an achievement given the record number of universities, law firms, TV networks and news outlets that have settled lawsuits, shuttered programs, curtailed coverage and perhaps even canceled a top-rated late-night show in the hopes of appeasing President Trump. 'The Daily Show's' Jon Stewart summed it up on the show Monday when the host who gave Colbert his start as a 'Daily Show' correspondent ripped into Paramount Global, CBS' parent company, for its announcement Friday that it was canceling 'The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.' Paramount is in the process of an acquisition by Skydance Media that will require approval from the Federal Communications Commission, run by FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, a Trump appointee. CBS said its choice was 'purely a financial decision.' Paramount recently paid Trump $16 million to settle a lawsuit the president filed against '60 Minutes' for a Kamala Harris interview he said was 'deceitfully edited.' Stewart pointed out that, yes, talk shows are a dying art, likening the format to a Blockbuster kiosk inside a Tower Records, but he defended what he and his fellow 'Daily Show' hosts and brethren like Jimmy Kimmel and Seth Meyers do on a nightly basis. 'Believe me, this is not a 'We speak truth to power.' We don't. We speak opinions to television cameras, but we try. We f—ing try every night. If you believe, as corporations or as networks, you can make yourselves so innocuous that you can serve a gruel so flavorless that you will never again be on the Boy King's radar … you are f—ing wrong.' Stewart, whose show airs on Paramount-owned Comedy Central, proclaimed, 'I'm not giving in! I'm not going anywhere! … I think.' L.A. Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong was Stewart's guest and announced that The Times would be going public over the next year. Stewart skirted questions about the role of the newspaper in an era where journalists and outlets are censoring their work under threat of repercussions from the White House and instead focused on his guest's cancer research, pharmaceutical knowledge and reason for getting into publishing. Colbert also took on CBS' explanation for his firing on his show Monday night, saying, 'How can it purely be a financial decision if the show is No. 1 in the ratings? It's confusing. A lot of folks are asking that question, mainly my staff's parents and spouses.' But no one person or body folded faster or in greater numbers over the last 24 hours than GOP House members. They've had plenty of practice, of course. Tuesday, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-La.) announced that the GOP-controlled House was cutting short its final workweek before taking a month-long summer recess. The goal was to thwart an investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, the late convicted sex offender, financier and former friend of Trump, and slow the bipartisan push for legislation that's aimed at forcing the release of more documents. Johnson said he wanted to give the White House 'space' to release the Epstein information on its own. The Trump administration did release something Monday — 240,000 pages of records related to the FBI's surveillance of Martin Luther King Jr. before his 1968 assassination. Curiously, the information totally unrelated to Epstein didn't stop MAGA supporters, some congressional Republicans and Democrats who have seized the moment from demanding answers. The Justice Department tried to quell some of the fervor when it announced Tuesday that Deputy Atty. Gen. Todd Blanche is set to meet with convicted Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell — at some point. Trump and his base have pushed accusations about the convicted sex offender, insisting the 'deep state' was protecting liberal elites that were Epstein's clients. Now the conspiracy has come home to roost, and Trump's usual scare tactics and legal maneuvering used to silence and destroy critics has not worked. Recent reporting in the New York Times and Wall Street Journal provided more red meat for the feeding frenzy around Trump's involvement with Epstein and the women allegedly trafficked by the late convicted felon. The Journal reported that in 2003, Trump sent Epstein a birthday card for his 50th birthday, replete with doodles of women's breasts, pubic hair and clandestine wordage: 'May every day be another wonderful secret.' Even against a powerful conspiracy theory, the Great Fold of 2025 may continue to protect whatever secrets lurk beneath the bad poetry.
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Trump lacks clear path to block Washington Commanders' stadium deal over team name
WASHINGTON ― President Donald Trump has long flexed the power of the White House to insert himself into unconventional areas ‒ from the type of sugar in Coca-Cola to renaming the Gulf of Mexico. Yet Trump appears to have limited options to carry out his new threat to block the Washington Commanders' stadium deal proposed for the District of Columbia. To truly jeopardize the project, the president would probably have to get creative. Trump suggested he might halt the stadium deal ‒ which would have the team return to the site of Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in D.C. ‒ unless the Commanders adopt its former name, the Redskins. The team has played in Landover, Maryland since 1997. More: Trump threatens Washington Commanders' stadium plans if franchise doesn't change name Like any other private company, however, the Commanders organization gets to choose its name. Washington retired the name Redskins in July 2020 amid nationwide protests over race, initially becoming the Washington Football Team for two seasons, and then rebranding as the Washington Commanders in 2022. Trump can't unilaterally scrap the team's stadium deal for D.C. because Congress passed a law in December that transferred ownership of the RFK stadium site from the National Park Service to the District of Columbia. The $3.7 billion stadium deal, which includes $1.1 billion in local taxpayer funds, is in the hands of the D.C. Council, which is nearing a vote on the project. "The president can say what he wants, but the law is clear. D.C. has full power over that site," said Ankit Jain, who serves as one of D.C.'s two elected shadow U.S. senators. "There are certain conditions that D.C. has to meet ‒ and none of them are, 'what is the name of the team.'" Ways Trump could try to impede stadium deal Trump called for the Commanders to go back to its original name in a July 20 social media post that also pushed for the Cleveland Guardians, formerly the Indians, to bring back its old name. "There is a big clamoring for this," Trump wrote, adding in a subsequent post that he "may put a restriction on them" if the Commanders keep their name and "won't make a deal for them to build a Stadium in Washington." Trump has no role in signing off on the stadium project. But because of D.C.'s unique status as an enclave of the federal government, the president could potentially find ways to try to impede the deal. Under the U.S. Constitution, Congress has authority over the D.C. Although the 1973 District of Columbia Home Rule Act gave the city local governance with an elected mayor and city council, Congress still has a 30-day review of all legislation passed by the D.C. Council and retains authority over the district's budget. That arrangement could give Trump an opportunity to rally Republicans in Congress to block the stadium legislative package during the review period after the deal passes the council. In addition, a memorandum of understanding between D.C. and Trump's Interior Department would be required to address environmental hazards with the RFK site. And the 12-member National Capital Planning Commission ‒ which includes three Trump appointments and three Republican members of Congress ‒ must sign off on final stadium designs. Both hurdles could present Trump moments for intervention. More: Native Americans rail against Trump's call to change Commanders' name back. Trump has also shown a willingness in other political battles to threaten federal funding from states, cities, colleges and universities to get his way. Would he be willing to do the same to D.C. over the Commanders name issue? "I don't think this is a serious threat," Jain said of Trump's demand that the Commanders adopt its old name. Instead, Jain suggested Trump raised the issue as "a distraction" from the the backlash the president has faced for his handling of the government's files involving wealthy financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. "I don't think it's something that he's going to really follow up on, and there's very limited ability for him to do do anything there," Jain said. Truly loyalist in Congress has helped pave way to stadium The White House insists Trump isn't kidding around. 'The president was serious,' White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters July 21, pointing to Trump's reputation as a dealmaker. 'As part of the 'art of the deal,' part of his negotiating skills, as you know, sports is one of the many passions of this president and he wants to see this team's name changed." When asked to explain Trump's authority to block the Commanders' stadium deal, a White House official directed USA TODAY to the comments from Leavitt, who did not address how Trump could execute his threat. More: Trump 'serious' about blocking Washington Commanders relocation to DC, White House says Convincing Republicans in Congress to block the stadium deal if the council approves the legislation could be a tough sale, even for Trump. Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., a Trump ally and chairman of the House Oversight Committee, worked to get the land transfer of the RFK site through Congress and is a vocal supporter of the project. In a July 17 letter to the D.C. Council's chairman, Comer urged the council to approve the stadium deal no later than August and expressed disappointment in delays that have held up a vote. "The federal government transferred administrative control of this valuable property with the clear expectation that the D.C. Council would act decisively to maximize its potential," Comer wrote. Commanders, DC mayor stay quiet on Trump Longtime Washington owner Daniel Snyder in 2023 sold the team to a new ownership group led by billionaire investor Josh Harris, who has elected to keep Commanders as the name and has called the debate settled. The team just completed its most successful season in decades, capped by an appearance in the NFC championship game. The Commanders and Harris have not issued a formal statement on Trump's remarks. Commanders General Manager Adam Peters, addressing reporters on the first day of training camp Tuesday, said the team isn't focused on the stadium situation. "We really just try to focus on what's going on in here and getting ready for the season," Peters said. More: Commanders are focused on football, not Trump's stadium threats Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, who helped orchestrate the stadium deal, deflected when a reporter asked her Monday whether she believes Trump has the power to block the Commanders' stadium deal. "I think the thing that we should focus on in D.C. is doing our part," Bowser said, adding that the council still needs to give the green light. "We need to complete our part." Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has often talked about taking over the governance of D.C., a city he has long derided for crime and homelessness. Nevertheless, Trump hosted Bowser and the Commanders' Harris at the White House in May to announce Washington's National Mall would host the 2027 NFL Draft. Trump never mentioned the Commanders name during the announcement In fact, more than a decade ago, Trump had a very different take in 2013 when then-President Barack Obama said the Redskins should consider changing the team name to something less offensive. "President should not be telling the Washington Redskins to change their name-our country has far bigger problems!" Trump wrote on Twitter at the time. "FOCUS on them, not nonsense." Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.
Axios
an hour ago
- Axios
Thune, Johnson face summer doldrums as August looms
President Trump wanted Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) to "cancel August recess (and long weekends!)." Thune met the president halfway Tuesday, threatening to sacrifice the first weekend of August. Why it matters: Thune's trying hard to get Trump's nominees approved, even if it means cutting into the coveted August break, at the same time that his House counterpart, Speaker Mike Johnson, has decided to toss in the towel early. Both leaders are dealing — albeit in different ways — with the onset of Congress' version of "senioritis." As August approaches, attendance at votes becomes difficult to enforce, lawmakers tend to be more irritable than usual and momentum fades to tackle anything that can be put off until September. The big picture: Thune warned senators in a closed-door lunch Tuesday to be ready for possible votes on nominations next weekend — potentially taking them into August, three sources familiar with the discussion tell Axios. Meanwhile, across the Capitol, Johnson decided to send House members home a day early for that chamber's five-week August recess after tensions erupted over efforts to force release of the Jeffrey Epstein files. Fallout from the debate over the Epstein documents has effectively frozen House business. Leadership opted to cut the week short and leave town before things escalate further. Democrats planned to force yet more votes on amendments aimed at pressuring the Justice Department to release all its documents on Epstein. Zoom in: The idea Thune floated Tuesday is not set in stone. But no senator likes the idea of a potential Saturday vote in early August.
