Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser said she had a “great” meeting with President-elect Donald Trump on Monday, as he is slated to return to the White House in less than three weeks.
Bowser, who was also the mayor during Trump’s first term in office, announced late Monday that she met with the president-elect in a statement.
Today, Mayor Muriel Bowser met with President Donald Trump.
Following the meeting, the Mayor shared the following statement: pic.twitter.com/XGRyQaDJW5
— Mayor Muriel Bowser (@MayorBowser) December 31, 2024
“Today, President Trump and I had a great meeting to discuss our shared priorities for the President’s second term. President Trump and I both want Washington, DC to be the best, most beautiful city in the world and we want the capital city to reflect the strength of our nation,” said Bowser.
Trump previously declared that an “important part” of his campaign platform was to “bring back, restore, and rebuild Washington, D.C., into the ‘crown jewel’ of our Nation,” and in her statement, Bowser emphasized points of cooperation where she could work with Trump.
“We discussed areas for collaboration between local and federal government, especially around our federal workforce, underutilized federal buildings, parks, and green spaces and infrastructure,” said Bowser.
“I am optimistic that we will continue to find common ground with the President during his second term, and we look forward to supporting a successful inauguration on January 20,” Bowser added.
Returning federal workers to the office is one of the points on which district officials appear most optimistic about Trump’s help, as remote work for federal employees has hurt the district’s economy and affected its transit systems.
The Metro, the main public transit system serving the district, has yet to fully restore ridership to pre-pandemic levels, with weekday Metrorail ridership still down roughly 39%. Bringing back more federal workers could help with that slump, along with helping downtown businesses, which have seen fewer customers because of the fewer in-person workers since before the pandemic.
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Bowser told Congress earlier this month that the district is ready for federal employees to return to in-office work, with hopes that the incoming Trump administration will help push more workers back into the district.
With several federal office buildings sitting largely empty, district officials have also expressed a desire to repurpose unused federal office space for housing and other businesses. With the incoming Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency efforts aiming to cut waste and improve the government’s productivity, district officials could get their wish.
