D.C.’s 2025 Budget Process Is Already Off the Rails, Thanks to Behind-the-Scenes Bickering with CFO Glen Lee

“Every dollar that is rushed to fill the reserves is one fewer dollar available to address our residents’ unmet needs,” says Tazra Mitchell, chief policy and strategy officer at the left-leaning D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute and a longtime critic of the city’s reserve policies. “If she’s looking at using this pay equity fund to balance her budget, it would disproportionately harm Black and brown women, particularly. And it just undermines the trust we’ve been able to build and sustain among these educators.”