To misquote Olivia Newton-John’s pop-rock anthem, “Let’s get political, political!” D.C.’s movers and shakers were behind this week’s news.

While Democrats and Republicans were on opposing sides of last week’s Congressional Baseball Game, members of both parties joined together to take a swing at stopping a D.C. police reform bill on Wednesday. They struck out, and the bill is now a law — a home run for home rule.

But this win might not last very long. House Republicans are looking to push an array of rules and regulations on the District, attaching provisions to a draft federal spending bill that would effectively sabotage the city. And a city employee’s substantiated allegations of sexual harassment against John Falcicchio, Mayor Muriel Bowser’s former deputy mayor for planning and economic development and chief of staff, demonstrate that it takes more than self-government to make a good government.

Here’s the best and worst of this week’s headlines:

Thumbs Up:

After a series of dueling vetoes, the Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Amendment Act of 2022 is now officially D.C. law. Originally passed by the D.C. Council in 2020 — and again in May 2021 and April 2022 — as temporary legislation, the act makes permanent common-sense reforms to the Metropolitan Police Department, like forbidding officers from restraining subjects by the neck and creating a database of police misconduct.

Republicans and a handful of Democrats in the House and Senate voted to overturn the D.C. law in April and May, respectively, leading President Joe Biden to veto their attempt to block it late last month.

While Wednesday’s failure to override Biden’s veto made the police reform bill law, it’s worth remembering that home rule is a fickle and fleeting thing. The president and Congress overturned the D.C. Council’s revision of the criminal code in March — evidently, it doesn’t take a baseball game to bring our politicians together.

Thumbs Down:

“If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again,” can be an inspiring mantra about political perseverance. Unfortunately, House Republicans have taken it as an instruction to pick up where they left off when it comes to meddling in the District’s affairs.

While members of the House usually attach provisions to how D.C. can spend funds it receives from the federal government, this year’s proposed budget includes some new — and quite frankly, moronic — interference. If passed, the budget would quash the city’s attempts to ban drivers from turning right at red lights by 2025 and bar the District from using traffic cameras to fine drivers who run red lights or speed.

What’s the point of all of this? Who knows. But federal oversight of D.C.’s laws, whether from the nitty-gritty of traffic regulations to marijuana legalization and abortion access, certainly isn’t in the best interest of the city.

But that doesn’t mean Washingtonians can rely on D.C.’s government, including the employees who work there. The serious and substantiated allegations against Falcicchio, Bowser’s longtime “confidante,” from multiple city employees have led some members of the D.C. Council to call for an independent investigation into his conduct. What’s more, Grace Speights, the chair of GW’s Board of Trustees and an attorney, is representing Falcicchio.

A team is only as strong as its weakest link. And when that weakest link makes sexual advances to employees, sends sexually explicit text messages and treats the workplace as a “dating pool” — as the initial investigation into Falcicchio’s conduct revealed — it’s time to look at the whole chain.

Ethan Benn, a rising senior majoring in journalism and mass communication, is the opinions editor.