Less than 24 hours after winning the election to replace his former boss, Eleanor Holmes Norton, as D.C.’s delegate to Congress, Robert White joined WTOP to discuss the Democratic wave, his future in the House and the current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
The lifelong Washingtonian, who resigned from his D.C. Council seat Monday, will take office in January, succeeding Norton, known as the “Warrior on the Hill,” who has represented the District in Congress for 35 years.
White worked for Norton for five years, serving as her legislative counsel from 2008 to 2013. His victory came as Democrats won control of both the House and Senate in Tuesday’s midterm elections.
With D.C. Mayor-elect Janeese Lewis George promising to challenge President Donald Trump over federal interference in the District, White sees a delicate balance between standing up for the city and maintaining a working relationship with the White House.
“We don’t pick fights, but we’re not going to back down when important things to D.C. are on the line,” White told WTOP. “I think the president is today digesting some sobering news and trying to decide what his legacy is or is not going to be.”
Trump’s efforts to reshape the look of D.C. have also caught White’s attention.
“If he gets rid of the notions about building an arch. and taking over our golf course and gets serious about the mark, he can make on D.C.’s economy, on our public parks, the things that are both in his interest and in the interest of the District of Columbia, there’s actually an opportunity for partnership,” White said.
“If there is an opportunity for partnership, I will seize it. I believe that our mayor-elect will seize it. But we are going to protect and defend the District of Columbia at the end of the day.”
With the controversial fight over congressional redistricting having played out across the country, White sees an opportunity to revive an issue his mentor championed for decades: D.C. statehood.
“If the Democrats want to get their agenda done, they will get two extra votes in the Senate and one more in the House by making D.C. a state, which is something that it should be doing anyway,” White said.
With Democrats preparing to take control of Congress, questions are already being raised about whether the party will focus on investigating Trump or delivering on the issues that brought voters to the polls.
White said he’s already made his priorities clear to House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries and other future colleagues.
“We have to distinguish between the things that make people angry and the things that keep people up at night,” White said.
For the delegate-elect, the party’s principal focus should be on why voters elected them.
“Democrats, we can put a little bit of time into accountability and the things that the president has done wrong,” White said.
“But if we don’t change the things that are keeping people up at night, the bills, the cost of housing, medical care, then we won’t have a majority long enough to do anything with it.”
The House Appropriations Committee and the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee are where White has his sights set once he gets to Congress.
“Most of what we get done in the District is not through the Oversight Committee; it’s through appropriations, which is one committee that I want to get on as soon as I can,” White said.
The latter plays a role in federal real estate and leasing matters, which have a significant impact on the District’s economy.
“So the Oversight Committee will be a place of showdowns, but the progress for our city, restabilizing our economy, will happen in other parts of the Congress, and I will be active across them,” White said.
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