Who has authority over the District of Columbia?

Answer 1

The District of Columbia is a federal district and does not have the same level of autonomy as states. Ultimately, the United States Congress has authority over the District of Columbia and can overturn or modify its laws. The President of the United States also has some authority over the district, particularly in matters of security and emergency management.

Answer 2

The Council of the District of Columbia is the legislative body of the District, so I would assume that they are the ones who make the laws for the District of Columbia. You should verify that at their website though because I am not entirely certain about that.

Added: As the seat of the Federal Government, the Congress maintains "oversight" over the District of Columbia and from time-to-time passes legislation which specifically addresses or targets subjects that are unique to that relationship.

Answer 3

The District of Columbia is a federal district and not a state. Originally the land to create DC was ceded by the Commonwealth of Virginia and the state of Maryland.

The Federal Government owns large parts of the land either directly or through the National Parks Service. Additionally the DC Government owns land for its own use. The remaining land is privately owned.

What makes this federal district unique is that the Federal government has oversight of the district and as such we have no direct voting rights in congress.

Answer 4

District of Columbia home rule is a term to describe the various means by which residents of the District of Columbia are able to govern their local affairs. All these means are subordinate to the United States Congress, which the Constitution grants exclusive jurisdiction over the district in "all cases whatsoever".

At certain times, and presently since 1973, Congress has provided for certain aspects of governance to be carried out by locally elected officials. However, congressional oversight of this local government still exists at a much higher level than would be allowed for any part of a state. Furthermore, the District's local government exists at the pleasure of Congress, and could theoretically be revoked at any time.

A separate yet related controversy is the lack of voting representation for D.C. residents in Congress. The city's unique status creates a situation where citizens in the District do not have full control over their local government, nor do they have voting representation in the body that makes such decisions.

Answer 5

The Congress of the United States exercises sole authority over the District of Columbia. Any authority that the city government has is granted them by the Congress. This authority is explicitly granted to the Congress by the Constitution in Article 1, Section 8 as one of the "enumerated powers".

Answer 6

Congress governs the District of Columbia. Washington D.C. or the District of Columbia, is the capital of the United States of America.

Answer 7

False. WDC is owned by the British & Vatican, and incorporated through them.