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PREVIOUS INTERVIEW: Councilmember Robert White on Trump sending National Guard to DC
DC Councilmember Robert White on if should President Donald Trump send National Guard to DC
WASHINGTON - D.C. Councilmember At-Large Robert White announced on Thursday that he is stepping into the race to become the next House representative for the District.
The third-term councilman will face off against Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, who he previously worked under, in next year’s Democratic primary.
What he says:
"I am stepping forward to serve my hometown in a time when families across D.C. are afraid and looking for home, where many parents are watching their government spend millions of dollars a week on National Guard troops, but their children can't play outside, while federal leaders are using Washington, D.C. as a political pawn," White said in a statement. "I am running for Congress because I want a future where D.C. families can put down roots, build wealth and live free in the city we love."
The backstory:
White is a D.C. native who graduated from Archbishop Carroll High School and then attended St. Mary’s College of Maryland, where he earned degrees in Philosophy and Political Science.
He went on to study at Oxford University in England and in The Gambia, West Africa. He also earned a law degree from the American University Washington College of Law.
White served as legislative council to Norton in 2008. He went on to work as the Director of Community Outreach for D.C. Attorney General Karl A. Racine in 2014 and then was elected as an at-large councilmember in 2016. He was re-elected in 2020.
White has a wife and two daughters.
His opponent:
The councilman's announcement came on the same day that Norton, 88, said she would not be stepping down despite growing pressure to end her tenure.
Earlier this week, former Democratic National Committee Chair Donna Brazile, once Norton’s chief of staff, publicly urged her not to seek re-election, according to The Hill.
Norton has represented the District since 1991, serving 18 terms. Despite the calls to retire, she appeared on Capitol Hill Thursday for the hearing on the city’s crime policy.
The Source: This information comes from an official statement from D.C. Councilmember Robert White and his website.