D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser Suggests Black Lives Matter Plaza Will Be Painted Over

U.S.|D.C. Mayor Suggests Black Lives Matter Plaza Will Be Painted Over

The mayor of Washington, D.C., suggested on Tuesday night that the giant Black Lives Matter mural that was painted in the summer of 2020 on a street within view of the White House would be painted over.

The announcement from the mayor, Muriel E. Bowser, about “the evolution of Black Lives Matter Plaza” came just a day after Andrew Clyde, a Republican congressman from Georgia, introduced legislation threatening to withhold millions in federal funds from the city unless the giant yellow words were removed from the street and the plaza renamed.

In a post on X, the mayor said that the plaza would instead be part of a citywide project in which students and artists would create new murals to celebrate the country’s 250th birthday.

The Black Lives Matter mural “inspired millions of people and helped our city through a very painful period, but now we can’t afford to be distracted by meaningless congressional interference,” wrote Ms. Bowser, a Democrat. “The devastating impacts of the federal job cuts must be our number one concern.”

The mural was painted on the morning of June 5, 2020, just days after federal authorities used chemical spray and smoke grenades to clear protesters so that President Trump could walk to a historic church near the White House and pose for photographs holding a Bible.

At the time, cities across the country were convulsing with demonstrations over the murder of George Floyd. Ms. Bowser and Mr. Trump quarreled throughout that week, with the Washington mayor meeting with protesters and urging the president to pull federal law enforcement officers and National Guard troops out of the city.

Since Mr. Trump’s return to office, the city’s vulnerability has become glaringly clear. Republican lawmakers have introduced numerous bills aimed at the city, including one that would eliminate home rule entirely — a power to elect local government that city residents have had for more than 50 years.

Washington’s self-government is limited as it is, with all local legislation subject to congressional oversight and much of the criminal justice system, including judges and prosecutors, in the hands of the federal government. But Mr. Trump has championed a complete federal takeover of the city.

He has already gotten involved in city matters, including in one case that sparked protests and outrage in the fall of 2020. Within days of taking office, Mr. Trump pardoned two police officers who had been convicted of conspiracy and obstructing justice in the death of a young Black man who died after a police chase.