DC Delegate Candidate Launches ‘Defend DC’ to Mobilize Voters Against Congressional Interference

At a downtown Washington rally, Democratic delegate hopeful Robert White Jr. introduced the “Defend DC” initiative, a grassroots operation designed to counter Republican congressional actions that limit the District’s self-governance. The program will enlist and train local volunteers to campaign in nearby House districts for candidates who favor D.C. statehood and local control, and will fund a political action committee to back such lawmakers.

White said the effort will focus on districts within driving distance—particularly in Virginia, Pennsylvania and New Jersey—targeting representatives like Rep. John McGuire, who pushed a bill cementing a Trump-issued order that authorized National Guard and federal agents in the city. Council Chair Phil Mendelson praised the plan as necessary to protect constitutional rights, while White referenced the 1972 voter-mobilization tactics of the district’s first delegate, Walter Fauntroy Jr. He also discussed the strategy with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Rep. Susan DelBene. The move comes as the Trump administration’s ongoing National Guard deployment, extended through 2029, intensifies debates over D.C.’s autonomy.