Ward 2 Councilmember Brooke Pinto announced Monday she would challenge Eleanor Holmes Norton for D.C.’s nonvoting Congressional delegate seat.
Pinto — who has represented Ward 2, which includes Foggy Bottom, since 2020 when she became the youngest council member sworn into office at 28 — chairs the Judiciary and Public Safety Committee and has championed harsher penalties for certain crimes and the reestablishment of drug-free zones in the District. Pinto joins At-Large Councilmember Robert White in challenging the 88-year-old Holmes-Norton, who has held the seat since 1991, amid calls for not to seek reelection and allow a new face to represent the District amid unprecedented challenges to the city’s home rule.
“I’m running for Congress to fight every day for the city that we love,” Pinto said in a video announcing her candidacy. “I want to build on what Congresswoman Holmes-Norton has done on our behalf for decades.”
The crowded race — Holmes-Norton has not bowed out of the race and has not faced a credible primary challenger in recent memory — comes as D.C. faces mounting federal encroachment into the city’s law enforcement operations and attempts by Congress to increase its oversight into D.C. laws.
On Aug. 11, President Donald Trump declared a “crime emergency” in D.C., allowing him to federalize the Metropolitan Police Department for 30 days, and deployed National Guard and other federal troops to the city to police crime. Since then, federal officers have made thousands of arrests, about 40 percent of which have been immigration related as MPD officers cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Last month, Congress also advanced over a dozen bills to increase the federal government’s oversight over the District that if passed, will allow the president to appoint D.C.’s attorney general and expand the Congressional review over D.C. laws. Earlier this year, Congress also withheld $1.1 billion from the D.C. budget by forcing the city to revert to 2024 spending levels.
“D.C. is best positioned to keep residents and visitors safe because we know what works here,” Pinto said in her announcement video.
Pinto’s office and campaign did not immediately return a request to comment.
In March 2024, Pinto sponsored major legislation that enacted harsher punishments for violent crimes and the revival of drug-free zones after a historic crime spike. While the legislation passed unanimously, it drew backlash from civil rights groups like the ACLU and the Washington Interfaith Network due to concerns that it violated privacy rights and focused on punishment rather than public safety.
