“Anxiety disorders are among the most common psychiatric conditions in kids,” said Emily O’Gorman, child psychologist at U.Va. Health; the 11% of children ages 3 to 17 have current, diagnosed anxiety.

However, nervousness about the school year is very common and doesn’t last long, O’Gorman said.

“Back-to-school anxiety, specifically, we think of as subclinical, meaning it doesn’t actually warrant a diagnosis,” she said.

“I think about both excitement and anxiety about back to school as developmentally normative,” O’Gorman said. “For most kids, I would say back-to-school anxiety isn’t a sign that something’s wrong, it’s just a sign that they’re paying attention to something new.”

The reasons why children feel anxious is often related to their age, O’Gorman said.

“Younger children, like preschool or early elementary, would often experience anxiety over separation from a caregiver,” she said. For older children, “Big transitions, like to middle or high school, or having a friend move, tend to bring up that back-to-school anxiety.”

As for symptoms? “Things like stomach aches and headaches, trouble sleeping,” O’Gorman said.

“I will say if those are persisting or becoming a consistent pattern, it’s probably worth a pediatrician visit to just rule out anything medical, before assuming anxiety” is the cause.

Some emotional or behavioral signs might be bedtime resistance, “or repeated questions about logistics, like ‘will you be there to pick me up,’ or ‘what time will you be there,'” suggesting that the child would appreciate some reassurance.

Other signs might be clinginess, irritability or tantrums.

“Sometimes things look like defiance, even though they’re actually driven by anxiety,” she said.

How to help when child has back-to-school anxiety

Parents can play a big role in soothing a child’s nerves, but also helping the child feel empowered.

“We want parents to listen calmly,” about their child feeling anxious, O’Gorman said. “We want parents to validate the emotion, and also reinforce the child’s ability to cope, even if or when they’re anxious.”

While a parent’s instinct might be to tell their child there’s nothing to feel anxious about, that’s not helpful.

“The formula for supporting an anxious child is acceptance plus confidence,” she said.

A parent might say, “I know your stomach hurts and you feel nervous. I also know that you’ve got this,” O’Gorman suggested.

“It has the acceptance of the feeling, but also the confidence that they can handle it.”

For positive reinforcement, “Praise the brave behavior, saying something like, ‘You did a great job going straight into school this morning,’ or ‘I saw you find your friends at school 鈥� that was such a great idea.'”

Anxiety is driven by avoidance, but letting a child stay home from school deprives a child of a crucial life lesson, O’Gorman said.

“When we let kids avoid doing something they’re anxious about, we take away their opportunity to learn that it’s not so bad, or even if it is just as bad as they thought, that they’re still capable of getting through it.”

Practicing ahead of time what will happen on the first day of school can be helpful: “Things like shifting bedtime and wake time, rehearsing the morning routine, visiting the school, meeting the teacher.”

While most people have heard that anxiety can be contagious, O’Gorman said confidence can be contagious, too.

“Kids pick up on how calm their parents are, and if parents can model confidence, it helps kids approach things with confidence, too,” O’Gorman said.

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“The world is just filled with con artists who relentlessly look to steal your money,” Kevin Brasler, executive editor of Washington Consumers’ Checkbook, said. “These days they’re using AI to create really sophisticated looking scams.”

The attempts come in the forms of convincing fake websites, emails, texts, audio and video, which arrive on your phone or computer.

Fraud losses reported to the Federal Trade Commission hit a record $15.9 billion in 2025, up 27% from the previous year. The FTC鈥檚 “Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book 2025” reports that ,听,听听补苍诲听聽are driving much of the increase.

“The first rule of protecting yourself against fraud is to be skeptical; I mean, question everything,” Brasler said. “Assume that calls, texts and emails you get from what seem like your financial institutions or businesses you might deal with are fake.”

Avoid clicking on links in email or text messages, since scammers often “phish” for login credentials by sending something that appears to be from your bank or retirement fund.

“What criminals do is they prefer to hack the weakest link in each security chain, and often these days the weakest link is us,” said Brasler, saying unsuspecting victims often hand over their account information and other personal details when presented with a realistic-looking link.

In an increasingly digital world, Brasler said you should open and read your postal mail.

“I realize that sounds silly, but financial institutions, government agencies like Social Security and the IRS, they’ll send important notices via the U.S. Mail,” he said.

Use credit cards for online and mail-order purchases, rather than a debit card, since the former is protected under the federal Fair Credit Billing Act.

“Under the law, if fraud occurs on your card, you’re not responsible for it. The credit card company must investigate allegations of abuse and fraud, and even things you’re just not happy with, like an auto repair,” Brasler said. “You can dispute those charges with your credit card company and get your money back.”

Don’t pay via crypto, payment apps, gift cards or wire transfers 鈥� methods which fraudsters often suggest, Brasler said.

“When you send money its irreversible, so criminals can grab the money, move it somewhere else, and you’ll never see it again,” he said.

See other tips in Washington Consumers’ Checkbook’s article,

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But drivers should avoid the area beginning Friday evening and through the weekend, according to the .

“We have to do a lot of lane closures, a lot of lane shifts, turning restrictions, detours,” said Charlie Gischlar, with SHA.

He said those changes will start at 7 p.m. on Friday.

“Maryland Route 4 comes up from southern Maryland, so it doesn’t just affect the D.C. region and Prince George’s County, but it also affects some of the southern Maryland counties as well.”

From Friday night, through the weekend, drivers on northbound MD 4 鈥� also known as Pennsylvania Avenue 鈥� won’t be able to access Suitland Parkway, which travels west into the District.

“You’re going to have these rolling left and right turn closures along Maryland 4 in both directions, and some turn late restrictions,” Gischlar said. “It’s going to be a tough weekend here.”

Crews will be tweaking the road configuration ahead of a new traffic pattern which will greet commuters Monday morning and be in effect for at least two years.

“What we’re doing is shifting traffic from the existing Maryland 4 onto a temporary road that we built, so we can get in there and start adding a lot of the infrastructure,” Gischlar said.

According to SHA’s website, “The traffic pattern on the temporary roadway will consist of two lanes in each direction, with dual left-turn lanes on northbound MD 4 to Suitland Parkway.”

Construction of the new interchange began in March 2024, and is projected to be completed by 2029.

See a map of the area of the interchange and construction below:

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Naresh Bhatt appeared in Prince William County Circuit Court on Thursday for a hearing that focused on trial procedures rather than the evidence that’s expected to be presented to a jury. Mamta Kafle Bhatt was last seen on July 29, 2024, in a video call.

Naresh Bhatt was indicted in December 2024 on charges of first-degree murder and defiling a dead body. He was also charged, but not indicted, with concealing a dead body.

Jury selection is scheduled to begin Oct. 6 for what is expected to be a seven-week trial.

During Thursday’s motions hearing, Naresh Bhatt, dressed in an orange prison jumpsuit, sat between his two public defenders and a Nepalese interpreter.

Judge Kimberly Irving denied a request from the prosecution to send a questionnaire to potential jurors as a way to streamline the jury selection process by advising them the trial would last almost two months.

The judge agreed with the defense that Prince William County residents who received the questionnaire would be more likely to research the case before reporting for jury duty.

Irving also rejected a request to permit audio recordings of the proceedings.

Court records show prosecutors have subpoenaed forensic specialists, blood-spatter experts and mapping analysts among their witnesses. Prosecutors said those expert witnesses will help jurors understand evidence they say tracks Naresh Bhatt’s movements and actions before his wife disappeared.

Prosecutors have suggested that Naresh Bhatt killed his wife in their Manassas Park home, dismembered her body with a power saw and disposed of her remains in several garbage bags left in area dumpsters.

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Court records show Matthew Mahl, a 23-year veteran with the D.C. police department, was arrested in April after prosecutors said he traded sexually explicit messages with someone he believed was a 15-year-old boy.

Mahl provided his real name during the text messages, and shared that he was a lieutenant involved in presidential escorts, according to court documents cited by at the time of the arrest. In addition to sexually explicit photos, Mahl sent a photo of himself in uniform.

Prosecutors said Mahl discussed the 15-year-old’s age and said he could lose everything if caught. Mahl arranged to meet the teen after school 鈥� when he arrived, he was taken into custody.

as part of the Harford County Sheriff’s Office partnership with the “Takedown with Chris Hansen” series, which documents child predator sting investigations.

One of the most disturbing, upsetting and dangerous busts in any sting ever! DC Metro PD Lt Matthew Mahl鈥ho had Presidential security duty鈥aught in the act! The latest shocking episode of with is out now streaming on

Mahl pleaded guilty to two felony counts of solicitation of a minor on Aug. 7, in Harford County Circuit Court.

Judge Elizabeth Bowen ordered Mahl undergo a psychiatric evaluation before he’s sentenced on Sept. 30. He remains held without bond.

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“Most of the rain, the accumulations occurred in the eastern portion of the (Potomac River) basin that’s downstream from the intakes for the D.C. water suppliers,” said Michael Nardolilli, executive director of the Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin. “A lot of places got a lot of rain, so gardens are going to pop back to life, but our focus is on the drinking water supply for the Washington, D.C. area.”

“The real question is: where did the rain fall? We need it to fall in the western part of the basin, which is upstream from the intakes for the D.C. area water suppliers,” Nardolilli said. The three local water suppliers are WSSC Water, the Washington Aqueduct and Fairfax Water.

Daily drought monitoring begins when the flow at the U.S. Geological Survey’s stream gauge at Point of Rocks, Maryland, falls below 2,000 cubic feet per second.

“The river is very low and it has been low 鈥� right now it’s at 1,720 cubic feet per second,” Nardolilli said. “We don’t think it’s a problem with the gauge. We think it’s a problem with the river.”

To illustrate, Nardolilli said the median for the date of Aug. 3, over 130 years of data collection, is 2,760 cubic feet per second: “We’re basically 1,000 cubic feet per second of the median for that date.”

While heavy rain is expected to continue this week, Nardolilli doesn’t think it will be enough to cause the cessation of the daily drought monitoring.

“Summertime is a traditional low part of the river flow, and we’re going into the fall, which really is the lowest part,” he said. “We’re pleased we’ve had so much rain, but it didn’t do much to dent the drought from our perspective, looking at drinking water supply.”

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In 2002, Sifrit and his then-wife Erika killed and dismembered Martha Crutchley and her boyfriend Joshua Ford.

The couples met on a bus in Ocean City during Memorial Day weekend before a night of drinking at the Seacrets nightclub.

In the Sifrit’s rented condominium, Benjamin forced the couple into the bathroom and told them to strip down; shots were fired through the door. Ford was killed by gunfire. Prosecutors have never been able to specify how Crutchley died.

In Benjamin Sifrit鈥檚 trial in Montgomery County, jurors didn’t accept the prosecution’s claim that Benjamin fired, and he was cleared of wrongdoing in Ford鈥檚 death, but convicted of second-degree murder in Crutchley鈥檚 death and sentenced to 38 years.

Judge Paul Weinstein, who came out of retirement to pronounce sentence, told Benjamin Sifrit during sentencing that had it not been for masterful lawyering, the former Navy SEAL would likely be facing life in prison.

鈥淚t鈥檚 one of the few instances in 20 years I disagree with the jury鈥檚 verdict,鈥� Weinstein said on July 7, 2003. 鈥淭his was nothing more than a thrill-killing you and your wife committed. You鈥檙e a butcher.”

In 2022, Benjamin Sifrit was denied parole.

After recently petitioning for a reduced sentence under Maryland鈥檚 Second Look Act, Benjamin has a hearing scheduled for Aug. 11 in Rockville. In his petition, he acknowledged dismembering and disposing of the bodies. However, 鈥淭o be clear, I have always, and still do, maintain my innocence regarding any act of murder.鈥�

Erika was sentenced to life in prison plus 20 years in Frederick County, where the case was moved, convicted of first-degree murder in Ford鈥檚 death and of second-degree murder in Crutchley鈥檚 death. In April, Erika was refused parole.

Lawyer lists reasons Benjamin should be released from prison

In a motion filed this week, assistant public defender Brian Saccenti offered a variety of reasons why his client should have his sentence reduced under the Second Look Act, and be released with time served.

In considering the nature of the offense, Saccenti said there are two ways to ascertain the facts of the case.

“The first way is to defer to the considered judgment of the jury and hew to its findings as implied by its verdict. The other way is to disregard the jury’s judgment and cobble together a narrative by cherry-picking the evidence, extraneous information and inferences that are the most harmful to Mr. Sifrit and not coincidentally, the most sensational,” wrote Saccenti.

In its opposition to the petition, the Worcester County State’s Attorney’s Office wrote, “These murders stand out for their cruelty and brutality and for the disturbing way in which the victims were dismembered and disposed.”

Saccenti said Benjamin, who goes by B.J., has matured while behind bars and become a dependable, responsible inmate. After three prison infractions early in his incarceration, he’s had none in the past 14 years.

He’s picked up several vocational skills during his prison jobs, Saccenti said, including work as a purchasing clerk, a plumber and participation in a Department of Corrections training program about workplace blood-borne pathogens cleanup.

Since 2024, as a plumber’s apprentice he has accompanied supervisors outside the prison fence to perform repairs at other Maryland prison facilities.

Prosecutors have not been impressed.

鈥淭he State asserts that the facts in this case, which indicate a thrill killing of two individuals, who were then completely dismembered by defendant would not warrant a sentence reduction regardless of any demonstration of maturity or rehabilitation,鈥� they wrote.

Two supervisors provided letters of recommendation.

“B.J. has consistently demonstrated a strong work ethic. He has never missed a day of work, is dependable, willingly stays late when needed, and takes pride in doing the job right.”

Another supervisor wrote, “Benjamin Sifrit is a dependable and trustworthy worker who has consistently conducted himself in a responsible manner.”

Photos included in the filing include Benjamin Sifrit operating two types of heavy machinery 鈥� a backhoe and an aerial boom lift 鈥� and releasing a skunk that was caught inside the prison facility.

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Ten years ago on the night of July 30, 2016, the first of two 鈥�1,000-year floods鈥� to devastate Ellicott City, Maryland, within two years killed two people and severely damaged dozens of buildings in the popular historic district.

Now, in 2026, construction continues on a tunnel that aims to keep stormwater from running downhill in the hilly former mill town onto Main Street and instead dump it into the nearby Patapsco River.

In 2016 more than six inches of torrential rain fell in less than two hours, causing flash flooding that swept away hundreds of cars. Two people, Jessica Watsula and Joseph Blevins, were killed in the flooding.

Two years later, in 2018, another “once in a millenium” flood struck Ellicott City, killing Edison Hermond, who was swept away while trying to help rescue a woman on Main Street.

Then new Howard County Executive Calvin Ball announced the 鈥淓llicott City Safe and Sound鈥� plan, projecting to cost $140 million, to be finished by mid-2025.

Since then, the county has installed a new outdoor tone alert system to warn people when a flood is imminent. New evacuation routes have also been developed, with signs posted in Ellicott City.

Three of five planned upstream retention ponds have been built to intercept stormwater before it runs downhill to Main Street. Three tributaries run through the watershed: Tiber Branch, Hudson Branch, and New Cut Branch which have funneled stormwater toward Main Street during flash flooding.

One mile up Main Street is the construction site for the North Tunnel Project, designed to carry 26,000 gallons of water per second underground, and away from Main Street. Tunnel boring machines have been cutting through granite to create the 18-foot-diameter tunnel.to the Patapsco River.

By July 2026, the broader flood mitigation program had grown from an originally projected $140 million to about $386 million, based on inflation and extending the tunnel further uphill than initially projected.

The North Tunnel Project is now expected to be completed by late 2027.

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A recently opened 12-story underground pumping station in Alexandria, Virginia, is helping solve a problem that has existed for more than 100 years.

Alexandria’s 1800s-era combined sewer overflow system served Old Town, where stormwater and sanitary sewage flowed in the same pipe.

During heavy rains, when large amounts of runoff from streets entered the combined sewer system, the excess mixture resulted in untreated flows entering the Potomac River, Hunting Creek and Hoofs Run.

Opened in July, AlexRenew’s RiverRenew project is expected to prevent 120 million gallons of combined sewer overflows from polluting the Potomac and its tributaries each year.

In the recently opened facility, “During wet weather, when flow levels rise, it overflows into our new diversion chamber, rather than overflowing into the river,” RiverRenew Program Manager Ryan Payne said. “It flows by gravity down a drop pipe and into our waterfront tunnel.”

The 130-foot-deep, 2.2-mile-long tunnel along the waterfront has the capacity to capture and hold stormwater in the midst of the storm.

“Once the rain event is over, we screen out any remaining debris and the flows are pumped through our tunnel dewatering pumps, up to the surface, where they’re treated at AlexRenew’s wastewater treatment plant,” which is adjacent, said Matt Robertson, spokesman for the company, during a Wednesday tour.

Robertson said the new system provides flexibility in the midst of a downpour.

“During the wettest events in Alexandria, the wet weather pumping station gives us additional options for treatment,” he said. “We could redirect flow to the waterfront tunnel for storage or we can redirect them to various places in our plant where those flows can be treated.”

In 2017, Virginia’s General Assembly passed a law requiring Alexandria to solve its combined sewer overflow problem by 2025.

“We made a commitment to our community in 2017 to solve this long-standing environmental issue, and we’ve worked tirelessly every day since to stand by it,” General Manager and CEO Justin Carl said on July 1, when the project became fully operational.

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A man who was with two swimmers called 911 from the shoreline of the Potomac River, south of Sandy Landing, at around 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, a spokesman for Montgomery County Fire and Rescue told 小萝莉影视.

One swimmer, in his late teens or early 20s, was able to get out of the water. But a man who’s about 25 years old is still missing, according to the spokesman.

The younger swimmer who got himself out of the river was evaluated and treated by Fairfax County Fire and Rescue at the scene.

Tuesday鈥檚 search included nine swift water boats, sonar, underwater drones and K9. The search had to be paused as evening storms rolled in.

Crews from the fire and rescue departments in Montgomery County and Fairfax County picked up the search Wednesday morning.

If the missing swimmer isn’t found, the fire department spokesman said the search would continue Thursday morning.

It is illegal to swim or wade in the .

Earlier this summer, a 20-year-old and a 16-year-old died in separate incidents on the river.

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Stafford County Circuit Court Judge Charles Clark overturned a lower court’s bond decision and set bond for Jing Sheng Dong at $25,000.

Dong faces five involuntary manslaughter charges in connection with the May 29 crash on Interstate 95 in Stafford County, near mile marker 146.

As conditions of his release, Clark ordered Dong to surrender his Chinese and U.S. passports, commercial driver’s license and driver’s license. He also must secure housing in Virginia, remain on house arrest under pretrial supervision, refrain from driving, avoid contact with victims and not consume alcohol.

Dong remains in custody at Rappahannock Regional Jail while arrangements are made to meet those conditions.

“He’s a bus driver, so it’s not like he has a lot of money. The man was trying to earn a living for his family with a 17-year-old son, so we have to find a place. Hopefully, some place up toward me, so I can communicate with him and see him, because he can’t drive or leave the Commonwealth,” attorney Thomas Walsh told 小萝莉影视.

Bus driver Jing Sheng Dong鈥檚 attorney Thomas Walsh, after judge granted $25,000 bond and imposed several conditions until trial for 5 counts of involuntary manslaughter in deadly bus crash on I-95 in Stafford County, Va.

鈥� Neal Augenstein (@Augenstein小萝莉影视)

Walsh said he is working with his client to secure his release.

Dong’s trial is scheduled for Oct. 6, though Walsh previously said the date could change following the bond ruling.

小萝莉影视’s Neal Augenstein reported from Stafford.

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In a news conference Friday, owner Chuck Kuhn said he would donate the historic vessel and its operations to Montgomery County. At the same time, the county will purchase the land where the ferry docks on the Maryland side of the Potomac.

The county will pay $1.5 million for the approximately 2.5 acres of riverfront land, a store, a ferry ramp, a boat launch and storage buildings. Once the sale is finalized and the county assumes possession of the property, the vessel will be pulled out of the river and examined for repairs, officials said. The county hopes it can finalize the transition in the next two months.

Kuhn, who purchased White’s Ferry with his wife, Stacy, six years ago, said the goal was to get the ferry open.

“We never were worried about who owned it. We just wanted to make sure the ferry got back open for the community. It was an amazing journey and today is a great step,” Kuhn said.

In December 2020, the ferry shut down after a Loudoun County judge ruled White’s Ferry had been trespassing since the end of a licensing agreement that allowed the ferry to dock at Rockland Farm on the Virginia side of the Potomac.

Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich said the ferry’s shutdown has heavily impacted the city of Poolesville, where the ferry is located. He called the deal a “major milestone, a significant step” toward reopening the ferry. After years of assisting with negotiations with both landowners, he said owning the property itself was the most “logical and simple thing” to resume service.

“I hope that our colleagues in Loudoun County and the Commonwealth of Virginia take note of this major shift, and see their way to acquire the rights needed to restart the service, and we stand ready to work with them to achieve that goal,” Elrich said.

“I’m optimistic that the climate on the other side of the river has improved.”

Over the years, Kuhn has been unable to reach a deal with Libby Devlin and her brother Peter Brown, who own Rockland Farm, to allow the ferry to resume service. This includes the Montgomery County Council putting together a $3 million offer to resolve issues.

In 2021, Loudoun County’s Board of Supervisors urged Kuhn and Devlin to negotiate a deal on their own. “Work it out,” Chair Phyllis Randall encouraged the private owners at the time.

Montgomery County officials said they last spoke to the Rockland Farm owners around February, with Elrich adding that he would like to negotiate a deal to resume service. Devlin told 小萝莉影视 Thursday she was unaware of the deal between Kuhn and Montgomery County and hadn’t been invited to participate in Friday’s news conference.

When asked if this deal might pave the way for Loudoun County to exert eminent domain over the land in Virginia where the ferry docks, Elrich said it’s possible, but it should be the final step, as it could be delayed through a lengthy court battle. However, he admitted it has been a struggle to work with the Rockland Farm owners.

“But if it came down to eminent domain, I’d hope the state would consider doing it,” Elrich said.

“They聽recognize the economic value and the purpose. This is something they should be willing to do. They certainly have the power to do it.”

In a statement to 小萝莉影视, a spokesperson for the Office of the County Administrator in Loudoun County said that Montgomery County informed them of the White’s Ferry acquisition Thursday, adding that the jurisdiction sees the deal as a positive development.

鈥淭his is an important milestone toward improving regional connectivity,” Loudoun Economic Development Executive Director Buddy Rizer said in a statement. “Working together on projects like this creates stronger local economies and better opportunities on both sides of the river.鈥�

Established in 1786, White’s Ferry carried between 600 and 800 vehicles daily across the Potomac River and more on weekends. Once it is open and running, Montgomery County will hire people to operate the ferry.

“The ferry is a vital service that we want to have restored,” Montgomery County Department of Transportation Director Chris Conklin told 小萝莉影视. “With this arrangement, we have the Maryland landing and ferry operations in control and continue to seek solutions by finding answers to where the boat can land in Virginia.”

小萝莉影视’s Jos茅 Uma帽a contributed to this report.聽

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Jesica Argueta, 23, of Silver Spring pleaded guilty Wednesday to vehicular manslaughter by gross negligence and one count of second-degree assault for causing the crash that killed Josephine Gieske, who was riding in the passenger seat of a Toyota 4Runner, and seriously injured the driver.

Montgomery County police and prosecutors said Argueta was driving her Toyota GR86 at speeds up to 84 miles per hour in a 40-mph zone. Argueta admitted she was weaving through morning rush hour traffic when she hit the vehicle Gieske was riding in as it attempted to turn left from Randolph Road onto Sherwood Forest Drive.

Argueta faces a maximum of 20 years in prison. She’ll be sentenced Sept. 16.

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With one month until Indy cars race through the streets of the nation’s capital during the Freedom 250 Grand Prix, preparations for the District’s road course are ramping up.

Crews on Wednesday laid hot asphalt along sections of Pennsylvania Avenue, one of the main stretches of the 1.66-mile circuit. The course also includes Independence and Constitution avenues, 9th Street, and crosses the National Mall at 7th and 3rd streets NW.

Race organizers said crews will begin installing safety walls and fencing on Sunday to prepare the course for drivers and spectators.

According to organizers, most of the heavy construction work will take place overnight and during periods outside rush hour.

Crews have already removed a number of street poles and objects from medians as preparations continue for the races on Aug. 22 and 23.

Organizers said road closures are not expected to become an issue until shortly before and during race weekend.

Here is the course map:

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The bill is sponsored by Rep. James Comer, a Kentucky Republican who chairs the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

鈥淩adical D.C. Democrats want to solve their spending problem by reaching deeper into taxpayers鈥� pockets and driving further on the path to socialism,鈥� Comer said.

Comer alluded to but did not name D.C. Council member Janeese Lewis George, who is likely to become the city鈥檚 next mayor after winning the Democratic nomination.

D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton said the bill would mark a major blow to local control.

鈥淚f enacted, this will be the most consequential reduction in D.C.鈥檚 authority to govern itself since the D.C. Home Rule Act was passed in 1973 the entire modern history of D.C. home rule,鈥� Norton said.

For all the latest developments in Congress, follow 小萝莉影视 Capitol Hill correspondent Mitchell Miller at Today on the Hill.

Mayor Muriel Bowser also opposed the legislation in a statement Wednesday.

鈥淭his would render the District incapable of recovering from the debilitating impacts of COVID, federal remote work, and DOGE,鈥� Bowser said.

In a letter to Comer, D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson said the bill 鈥渨ould straitjacket District government while not adding to Congressional authority over the District. Congress already has the authority to disapprove any and every tax increase adopted by the Council.鈥�

Council member Robert White, the Democratic nominee in the 2026 election to replace Norton as D.C.鈥檚 congressional delegate, said the bill 鈥渨ould be devastating.鈥�

鈥淥ur budget would become a request we sent to Congress that dies the moment they ignore it. That鈥檚 not oversight. It鈥檚 a veto over our own city,鈥� White said.

If the bill eventually gets a vote on the House floor, it will still face an uphill battle in the Senate, where Democrats would likely block it with a filibuster.

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