Washington, DC, lacks the protections of statehood, which places our mayor in a greater bind than any Democratic governor who must now resist tyranny.

If Muriel Bowser were to deliver a fiery anti-Trump speech, if she were to encourage our attorney general to sue the federal government more aggressively or suspend cooperation with the feds or encourage civil disobedience, Washingtonians would probably lose more freedom—at least in the short term, possibly forever.

But where Bowser’s strategic restraint is borne of necessity, the federal Democrats who work here, who employ staffers that live and raise families here, are under no such obligation.

And yet they have provided little comfort, exhibited little leadership, essentially left us to fend for ourselves. A tinderbox-like atmosphere thus pervades the city. It’s hard to resist federal oppression effectively when the only officeholders who might help are following bad pollster advice to “pivot to tariffs.”

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Two weeks in, and at the risk of jinxing it all, the tinderbox has not ignited, but the provocations continue to escalate. Absent any meaningful pushback, Trump ordered the national guardsmen he lawlessly deployed here to begin carrying rifles. Federal agents have conjured pretexts—disproven by video evidence—to arrest people for filming them. Citizens have been detained in whereabouts unknown to their families or city council members.

It would be neither surprising nor an indictment of the district’s residents for anger to boil over, giving Trump the violent confrontation he clearly wants.

National Democrats could insure against such a spiraling crisis—could give DC residents ballast—with solidarity, and by wielding power on our behalf. But they have to stop pivoting first.

PUTTIN’ ON THE PRITZ

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker provided an exceptional template Monday for other governors who might face harassment—but also for the absent Democratic congressional leadership.

Pritzker’s remarks came in response to reporting about Trump’s plan to send military service members to occupy Chicago, but pre-empted any deployment. You should watch the whole speech, just under 15 minutes, but he saved the most relevant passages for his peroration.

Each paragraph serves a distinct purpose—either to unify Illinoians and other Americans against Trump’s threats, or to seed doubt and division among Trump officials.

Let’s take them one by one, in order:...