Washington, DC, Mayor Muriel Bowser said Tuesday she will not run for re-election after 10 years leading the nation’s capital and walking a fine line with the Trump administration in recent months as she sought to protect the city’s autonomy during a federal law enforcement surge.
“It has been the honour of my life to be your mayor. Together, we have built a legacy of success of which I am intensely proud,” she said in a video posted to social media, touting several city infrastructure projects.
In an interview with local news outlet NBC News4, Bowser, a Democrat, noted that she made the decision for her family, and said it was time “to pass the baton onto the next set of leaders who are going to take our city to the next level.”
“It’s probably the hardest thing I’ve had to do – to walk away from a job I love. But I know we’ve accomplished the things I’ve set out to do,” Bowser said in the interview.
One of the mayor’s biggest accomplishments – negotiating a $3.7 billion deal to build a new football stadium and bring the Washington Commanders back to DC.
Bowser, who emerged as a leading figure in the Democratic resistance during President Donald Trump’s first term, has taken a different approach in his second term, attempting to strike a delicate balance and work with the administration, including during the federal law enforcement surge earlier this year.
Bowser took heavy criticism for cooperating with the president and not taking a stronger stance to resist the administration’s tactics. The mayor defended her strategy, repeatedly insisting that protecting DC’s limited autonomy was her “north star.”
“She feels she handled that situation the way she needed to, to protect Washingtonians. She doesn’t second-guess anything about it,” said a DC government official with knowledge of the mayor’s thinking.
Bowser credited the surge with helping to reduce violent crime but has remained critical of the National Guard’s presence and ICE operations in the city.
She received praise from Trump, who called DC a model for other potential federal deployments in Democratic-led cities.
Bowser, who met with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida before he took office again in January, has said the two share several goals for the district, including public safety, beautification and a push to return workers to the office full time.
Trump responded to Bowser’s announcement on Tuesday evening, telling reporters aboard Air Force One that he “got along with her very well.”
“I liked her. We worked together. DC is now a safe community. It’s a great community,” he added.
Earlier this year, facing political pressure, Bowser announced the removal of Black Lives Matter Plaza, telling CNN at the time that “we have bigger fish to fry” and pointing toward the looming financial and existential crises her city suddenly faced under Trump.
Bowser’s decision to not seek reelection comes as some Republican lawmakers float reforming or even undoing DC’s Home Rule Act – a law that balances local self-governance with federal oversight in the capital.
In her announcement, she did not mention Trump but did say she stood up to bullies and preserved Home Rule.
The mayor’s term ends in January 2027.
Bowser currently has no plans to run for any other office, according to the DC government official with knowledge of the mayor’s thinking.
“Her immediate plan is, she’s still mayor for over a year. So, she’s focused on that,” the official said.
Whoever succeeds Bowser will have to contend with a city rattled by the Trump administration’s gutting of the federal workforce, which laid off thousands of residents and has threatened other industries across the region.
The city could lose more than $1 billion in revenue over the next three years if the terminations continue, according to projections from the city’s chief financial officer.