88-Year-Old DC Dem Who Wants to Run for Re-Election Nowhere to Be Found Amid Trump’s Police Takeover: Report

UNITED STATES – MARCH 25: Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C., speaks during the news conference to announce their No Fencing at the United States Capitol Complex Act on Thursday, March 25, 2021. (Photo By Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call via AP Images)
The 88-year-old House Democrat representing Washington, D.C. who keeps insisting she’ll run for re-election has been noticeably absent amid President Donald Trump’s drastic action to combat crime in D.C..
Trump on Monday announced the use of the National Guard to curb a supposed rise in violent crime in the nation’s capital. As part of his strategy, he also announced the federal government would be assuming control of D.C.’s local police force. These actions have been met with a great deal of backlash from the Democratic Party, with many citing data from the FBI and the Metropolitan Police Department of D.C. to argue that crime is actually on the decline.
According to a Wednesday report from Politico, Eleanor Holmes Norton — a nonvoting House delegate for D.C. — has been nowhere to be found while the president attacks the city she represents:
But Norton — who has represented the city in the House since 1991 — has not been seen in public or otherwise interacted with the media since, even as other elected Democrats stepped forward to defend D.C.’s autonomy against Trump’s aggressive new actions.
Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser held an hourlong news conference Monday afternoon where she was flanked by city public safety officials, but not Norton. Her name was also missing from a joint statement released by members of Congress representing D.C.’s suburbs that slammed the police takeover as a “soft launch of authoritarianism.” Several of those lawmakers have since given interviews to POLITICO and other outlets.
The report did mention a written statement Norton published after Trump’s announcement. In it, she called the president’s actions “counterproductive, potentially dangerous, and an egregious assault on D.C. home rule.” Additionally, her spokesperson told Politico that she was working “diligently” with the mayor and other city officials. Her public appearances, however, have been kept to a minimum.
In recent months, Holmes has repeatedly told the media that she intends to run for a 19th term in office. While she’s maintained that she wants to run again, her staff has continually walked those claims back.