President-elect Donald Trump has made no secret of his disdain for deep-blue D.C. He’s threatened to mount a “federal takeover” of the city, called it “filthy and crime-ridden,” and even attempted assuming control of the D.C. police department while in office in 2020.

Rather than a president who may advance D.C.’s home rule or support its fight for statehood, come January, the District will instead contend with one who has made more threats to the city’s autonomy than any president in modern history. Trump’s return brings equal parts anxiety to local D.C. and federal Washington: In a city that hosts the grandeur of the federal government, Trump’s plans to shake up the federal workforce could impact thousands who live here. And because the District is not a state, Trump and a potential Republican Congress could wield significant influence over D.C.’s affairs.

The prospect will force D.C. leaders to make tough choices about how to approach the second Trump White House — balancing not “poking the bear,” as D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D) put it, against defending D.C. from infringements on its home rule.

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The full picture is not yet clear for the city: While Republicans won control of the Senate, control of the House remains up in the air as of Thursday and could make a major difference in the ease Republicans or Trump could have in intervening in D.C. policy.

But in statements following Vice President Kamala Harris’s concession Wednesday afternoon, D.C.’s elected leaders projected a sense of calm — and a commitment to working with the Trump administration. “We will actively support the incoming Trump Administration’s transition process and the 60th Presidential Inauguration of President-elect Trump,” Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) said in a statement on X, adding that “we will pursue a collaborative approach to our federal priorities in the District.”

The early posture suggests a strategic approach to a second Trump term in which Bowser — who has in her third term shown she is a proven negotiator in unlikely partnerships — will aim to find ways to work with the Trump White House, even as her administration has also spent months preparing for his return with clear-eyed concern about the threats Trump poses to D.C. home rule.

During Trump’s first term, Bowser’s profile was elevated nationally as she emerged as a foil to Trump, particularly during racial justice protests after George Floyd’s death, when she had “Black Lives Matter” painted on the street in front of the White House and created BLM Plaza. The chapter was also most indicative of the many ways the president has power over the federal district: Trump sent federal officers and D.C.’s National Guard — which, unlike in states, he controls — to clear demonstrators on city streets.

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In Congress, even though Republicans controlled both chambers during the first half of Trump’s first term, they didn’t succeed in imposing any new policy restraints on D.C. at that time.

But that’s changed.

Congress has the final say on D.C.’s budget and legislation thanks to a provision in the Constitution, and over the past two years, Republicans in Congress have used their power over the District with unprecedented regularity and success.

They have voted to block multiple liberal criminal justice policies — sometimes with help from Democrats. House Republicans have grown more aggressive in proposing policy restrictions on the city in the budget, ranging from trying to undo D.C.’s bans on turning right on red to defunding the mayor’s LGBTQ office. And most radically, a small group of Republicans in the House and Senate introduced moonshot bills to repeal D.C. home rule and abolish the city’s local government.

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But coupled with Trump’s threats to “take over” the federal district, observers have feared that even if that move is extremely unlikely thanks to the Senate filibuster, the rhetoric still poses a problem for the city.

George Derek Musgrove, author of “Chocolate City: A History of Race and Democracy in the Nation’s Capital,” said the Republican intervention is likely to ramp up should the GOP obtain a trifecta in Congress and the White House.

“I think the one thing we can say is this going to be a constant fear of, ‘What comes next?’” said Musgrove.

Trump’s campaign platform could also have serious impact on the region’s federal workers as Trump aims to fire civil servants, dismantle the Department of Education and derail a plan to move the FBI headquarters to Maryland. And he has expressed an interest in controlling even granular functions of D.C. government, down to road repair and graffiti removal. His administration, he said at a rally in Florida this summer, would “take over the horribly run capital of our nation in Washington, D.C., … and clean it up, renovate it, and rebuild our capital city so that it is no longer a nightmare of murder and crime.” (Violent crime is down over 30 percent since last year.)

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Trump’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment.

Mendelson said that while he still doubted the president’s “follow through” on some of his most incendiary ideas, he could not ignore the “disturbing” rhetoric about D.C. — and nor could local activists. Already, they’ve formed a “Defend DC” coalition to challenge Trump once he takes office.

“Folks are concerned that there’s been rhetoric that’s been anti-home rule. It’s hard to predict what will happen,” Mendelson said. “My view is we the District government need to focus on our strengths and what’s good about the city, and of course be watchful that there’s no effort that gains traction that would diminish our authority.”

Bill Lightfoot, a close Bowser ally and former council member, said the high level of support for Trump across the country shows deep-blue D.C. — which voted for Harris by 90 percentage points — “is not in step with the rest of the country,” and that local officials will need to carefully consider any policies that require congressional review. The council, he said, needs to “start counting votes in Congress before putting forth legislation” on hot-button issues.

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Ankit Jain, D.C.’s newly elected nonvoting shadow senator — whose chief job is to lobby for statehood and against infringements on home rule — said there were things he and local lawmakers could consider doing to more proactively consider feedback from congressional lawmakers and address concerns early.

“We’re going to have to do some work on the front end,” Jain said. “I don’t think that the council should preemptively clip its wings on every issue that might potentially attract Republican opposition. But I do think probably everyone in D.C. is going to have to think a little bit about, is this something that might trigger a congressional attack? What is the likelihood of that and how important is it for us to move forward with that?”

Jon Bouker, a lobbyist and former chief counsel for Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), said he thinks it’s strategic that local leaders are not coming out swinging against Trump.

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“I think all of our first instinct is to want to work with the new president and the new Congress, and that should absolutely be our starting position,” said Bouker, who serves on the Federal City Council, a nonprofit group that convenes business leaders in D.C. and is known to be influential in local policy.

Bouker said there may even be common ground between Bowser and Trump on some issues, including the conversion of vacant or underutilized federal buildings downtown into housing. Like Trump, Bowser has also called on federal workers to come back to the office full time. And some of her major priorities — including securing the federal property that holds RFK Stadium for a new Washington Commanders stadium — do require federal partnership.

“But at the same time,” Bouker added, “we need to be prepared if there are threats to D.C. democracy and home rule.”

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Like all presidential administrations, the Trump White House will have significant control over D.C.’s criminal justice system, including prosecution and incarceration for D.C. residents and nominating judges to D.C. courts.

The president has the power to nominate a new top prosecutor for D.C. to replace the Biden-nominated U.S. Attorney for D.C. Matthew Graves, whose office handles most adult crime in the city. “If President Trump truly cares about public safety in the District, he will ensure there is a quality U.S. attorney that’s appointed,” said Mendelson, who has sparred with the Biden-appointed Graves over prosecution rates. He said D.C. officials need to speak with the Trump White House about the appointment.

But some of the greatest anxiety around Trump’s threat to “take over” D.C. has involved its National Guard and police department. An obscure provision of the D.C. Home Rule Act allows the president to take control of D.C.’s police force in an emergency.

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Last time Trump was president, he considered that drastic step during 2020 racial justice protests.

Peter Newsham, who was then the D.C. police chief, said he thinks it is unlikely Trump would actually federalize the D.C. police. “If they were going to do it, that would’ve been the time they would’ve done it. And they didn’t,” Newsham said. “You never know what could happen, but I just think those circumstances in 2020 were very unique and very rare.”

Although Trump did not overtake D.C. police, he still used his executive power to send the National Guard onto city streets and deployed military helicopters to fly over the city and menace demonstrators.

Norton — the District’s nonvoting House delegate elected to an 18th term on Tuesday and who at 87 will be the oldest House member come January — recalled that episode in a statement to The Washington Post, describing the “risks” of a second Trump term.

“I will continue to defend D.C. home rule from any attacks that may come our way,” she said.