Rep. Andy Ogles Leads House Push to Repeal ‘Disastrous’ Home Rule for Washington, D.C.

U.S. Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) is the House sponsor of legislation that would repeal home rule in Washington, D.C., effectively returning governing powers over the nation’s capital to the U.S. Congress.

Ogles introduced the legislation alongside Senator Mike Lee (R-UT). First unveiled by The Daily Caller, the Republicans titled their bill the Bringing Oversight to Washington and Safety to Every Resident (BOWSER) Act, named after the city’s controversial mayor, Muriel Bowser.

The Tennessee Republican wrote in a post to the social media platform X that the experiment of local governance in the city was “disastrous,” calling Washington “unsafe.”

“It’s time Congress end the disastrous Home Rule of DC and clean up the woke policies that have made the city unsafe,” wrote Ogles.

He specifically referred to Bowser’s “radically progressive regime” when describing the necessity of the bill.

“Washington is now known for its homicides, rapes, drug overdoses, violence, theft, and homelessness. Bowser and her corrupt Washington City Council are incapable of managing the city,” said Ogles to The Daily Caller. “As such, it seems appropriate for Congress to reclaim its Constitutional authority and restore the nation’s Capital. The epicenter of not only the United States Federal Government but also the world geopolitics cannot continue to be a cesspool of Democrats’ failed policies.”

Lee similarly told the outlet the bill was submitted after the city’s “corruption, crime, and incompetence” became “an embarrassment to our nation’s capital for decades.”

The Home Rule Act was passed in 1973, allowing the nation’s capital to elect its own mayor and capital. The city was previously allowed to vote in presidential elections in 1963.

Ogles previously introduced similar legislation in 2023, and last year introduced a budget resolution that would have blocked federal funding for the New Columbia Statehood Commission, which exists to coordinate the district’s efforts to make Washington, D.C. the nation’s 51st state. It also would have blocked federal funding for senate elections in the district.

Polling conducted in 2022 found just 41 percent of Americans approved of making the capital into the 51st state.

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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Rep. Andy Ogles” by Rep. Andy Ogles.