Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser — a vocal critic of President Donald Trump — is once again calling on Trump to help clean up the nation’s capital.
Bowser declared a disaster emergency in the wake of over 240 million gallons of raw sewage spilling into the Potomac River, which flows directly through the heart of D.C.
The sewage spill has now become the largest in U.S. history.
Bowser wrote a letter to Trump on Wednesday formally requesting that he issue an emergency disaster declaration, freeing up federal resources to help deal with the spill.
“Our number one priority is the district, and that we’re going to utilize all resources, local, federal, and regional, or otherwise, to support operations of the district and what’s best for district residents,” said DC Deputy Mayor Lindsey Appiah in a press call announcing the mayor’s action.
The local declaration is asking the president to issue a Presidential Emergency Disaster Declaration. It seeks full reimbursement for the money the city and local utility DC Water are spending on repairs.
Bowser evaluated the situation and decided the declaration was the appropriate action to bring in the necessary resources and coordination to repair the leak and get the city reimbursed, Appiah said.
D.C. city officials are also making long-term requests on other projects that are critical infrastructure concerns, Appiah said.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt did not respond to requests for comment on the emergency declaration request.
However, she emphasized Trump’s concerns in a press conference on yesterday after Fox News’ Peter Doocy asked Leavitt if Trump is concerned the nation’s capital will “smell like poop.”
“Yeah, he is worried about that,” Leavitt said. “Which is why the federal government wants to fix it. And we hope that the local authorities will cooperate with us in doing so.”
Bowser’s surprise declaration follows two days of Trump expressing frustration with the handling of the spill on Truth Social, with most of his criticism directed at Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, a Democrat.
“There is a massive Ecological Disaster unfolding in the Potomac River as a result of the Gross Mismanagement of Local Democrat Leaders, particularly, Governor Wes Moore, of Maryland,” Trump said one post.
Trump noted that none of the local officials had asked for emergency help and he intended to step in. The federal government was already involved in the repair and assessing the impact of the leak through the EPA.
Leavitt called on leaders in Maryland, Virginia and D.C. to “step forward and to ask the federal government for help and to ask for the Stafford Act to be implemented here so that the federal government can go and take control of this local infrastructure that has been abandoned and neglected by Gov. Moore in Maryland for far too long.”
“It’s no secret that Maryland’s water and infrastructure have been in dire need of repair,” Leavitt said.
“Their infrastructure has received a nearly failing grade in the 2025 report card from the American Society of Civil Engineers. This is the same grade they’ve received, five years earlier. There has been no improvement under the leadership of Gov. Moore. He’s clearly shown he’s incapable of fixing this problem, which is why President Trump and the federal government are standing by to step in.”
The massive 72-inch pipeline, known as the Potomac Interceptor, ruptured on January 19. The leak sent 250 million gallons of untreated sewage into the Potomac River just north of Washington in the first five days.
DC Water, the local utility, has been working with other agencies, including the EPA, to repair the leak and monitor the ecological impact on the river.
The leak is primarily under control, although it could take months to repair the pipe fully.
This is an ongoing story.