Oct 28, 2026 · 17 min · 10 segments
With less than a week until Election Day, at-large DC councilmember Robert White appears all but confirmed to become the city’s next congressional delegate. But a provision of a 56-year-old law could…
Michael SchafferHost
Ben BraschGuest
He is going to resign, whether he resigns in – five days or whether he lasts through the end of the year, but he's all but guaranteed to become a member of Congress, which would open up that seat on the council.
I just want to say this is a different process than when Councilmember Kenny McDuffie left to run for mayor because he was one of the small handful of seats on the council who's an independent.
But because Robert White is a Democrat, That activates the Democratic committee here in DC who to fill that position, they will put someone forward via their own process and that process is very much in debate.
It could be like a 1200 member political convention like Maine had to do when Graham Platner stepped down from the US Senate race or it could be like Anita Bonds when she became council member in 2012.
The executive committee of the DC Dems got together, 71 members, and they voted Councilmember Bonds in.
That seems insane, kind of independently of this other situation we're talking about, because basically what you're saying is that a political party, you know, which is run by whatever combination of like activists, true believers and hacks run every political party in the world, gets to decide on an elected official.
They get to be there for a short amount of time, but then the voters get involved eventually.
Eventually it goes up for an election and then people get to vote on that person themselves.
He is going to resign, whether he resigns in – five days or whether he lasts through the end of the year, but he's all but guaranteed to become a member of Congress, which would open up that seat on the council.
I just want to say this is a different process than when Councilmember Kenny McDuffie left to run for mayor because he was one of the small handful of seats on the council who's an independent.
But because Robert White is a Democrat, That activates the Democratic committee here in DC who to fill that position, they will put someone forward via their own process and that process is very much in debate.
It could be like a 1200 member political convention like Maine had to do when Graham Platner stepped down from the US Senate race or it could be like Anita Bonds when she became council member in 2012.
The executive committee of the DC Dems got together, 71 members, and they voted Councilmember Bonds in.
That seems insane, kind of independently of this other situation we're talking about, because basically what you're saying is that a political party, you know, which is run by whatever combination of like activists, true believers and hacks run every political party in the world, gets to decide on an elected official.
They get to be there for a short amount of time, but then the voters get involved eventually.
Eventually it goes up for an election and then people get to vote on that person themselves.
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