American Indian’s Native Art Market, but one stood out: . 

The family owned textile company traveled from Peru after receiving an invitation to participate in the market this past weekend where 30 Indigenous artists from across the Western Hemisphere featured their work at the Smithsonian’s. 

Whitesell, who’s been going to the museum since it opened in 2004, said she expected strong craftsmanship and storytelling from vendors and the event succeeded her expectations. 

“We should support this community and the artists who have traveled all this way,” Whitesell said. “The quality of work is truly fabulous.”

For Marilu Fernandez, general manager of Llapan Maki, receiving an invitation to the market marked a milestone. She said she grew up in Peru watching her father, Ciprian Herminio Fernandez Quispe, founder of Llapan Maki,  weave textiles rooted in Quechuan traditions using patterns holding cultural meaning. 

In 2020, Fernandez said her family decided to sell their products to “help our community in Peru.”  With that goal in mind, Fernandez applied to the Smithsonian market. Vendors must submit their portfolios to the museum prior to being considered for the market. Fernandez said the process was competitive and extensive, but said it was worth it.

For the family, Fernandez said, their first appearance in D.C. was not only about selling goods but about sharing their culture with people far from home.

“I will go back to Peru with more energy and inspiration,” Fernandez said. “It’s important that people appreciate our work.”

For vendors like , the market has become a tradition. 

Rafael, a jewelry designer and a Navajo from New Mexico, has displayed her work at the market since the event started in 2012. Rafael said she returns each year to reconnect with vendors, exchange techniques and meet visitors who often become repeat customers. 

This year wasn’t different. With 10 minutes left of the market to spare, Rafael worked on polishing some more jewelry as customers lingered with curiosity, asking for her contact and backstory on her work.

“Coming here is like seeing art shows everywhere,” Rafael said. “People come and take the time to talk to the artist, to get to know them. It’s about supporting local businesses and local artists.”

Rafael was raised in Gallup, New Mexico, by grandparents who were silversmiths and grew up around jewelry making. She said she began refining her own skills shortly after high school while working in a manufacturing shop. 

Since the early 2000s, Rafael said she has sold jewelry full time at art shows across the country. 

Although each place is “unique in its own way,”  Rafael said there is something different about doing it in D.C. 

“It’s like ‘Wow, you’re in the Smithsonian,’ and I’m honored to be here,” Rafael said. “All artists here are top well-known artists. D.C. is special, not like any other show.” 

One of those artists, beadworker Naomi Smith, sat in the booth next to Rafael’s

Although the two had crossed paths in previous years, Smith said sitting next to Rafael is an opportunity to learn from fellow artists. 

Smith, who is from the Chippewas of Nawash First Nation, has over 40 years of experience in her craft. Her work is a fusion between Woodland and Haudenosaunee beading techniques. She said she doesn’t apply to the market just because she wants to sell products.

“Beading for us is medicine, it’s healing, ” Smith said. “If it happens to find a home then that’s fine. But the have personal stories attached.” 

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Maryland Health Secretary Meena Seshamani spoke at a forum in D.C. in November just a week after the nation’s longest government shutdown reignited debate over the Affordable Care Act. Seshamani, a former official at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid during the Obama administration, said reforms are underway, but Maryland cannot fully address widening access gaps without federal support. 

“There’s always room for improvement,” Seshamani said at Semafor’s on Nov. 18. “And we have an opportunity to be able to bridge the gap in healthcare with the local economy.”

She said rural Marylanders face pressures, including rising insurance costs, workforce shortages and transportation barriers. 

In October, the Maryland Department of Health submitted under the new federal Rural Health Transformation Program, a $50 billion national initiative created under the ‘One Big Beautiful Bill,” in an effort to address persistent rural health inequities. 

The is divided into : recruiting and training new rural health providers and students, creating more sustainable ways for patients to access care, such as mobile health care units dedicated to each rural region, and nutrition and food programs that connect local farm harvests with rural hunger “hot spots.” 

The plan notes Maryland’s rural residents are older, face higher rates of chronic disease, have fewer providers and experience structural barriers like isolation and poverty. 

Douglas Jacobs, the executive director of the Maryland Health Care Commission, said there’s a lot of “promise” in the grant though different concerns loom in the medical field. 

ACA marketplace subsidies, which allows millions of Americans to afford private health insurance, is expiring at the end of 2025. Jacobs, who is a primary care physician, said he has “seen first hand the effects not having health insurance can have.” 

Jacobs said low income people living in the rural areas of the state could face disproportionate effects without insurance. 

The crisis in the health care field goes beyond affordability, Jacobs said. He said transportation and the effects of persistent poverty play a role in it as well.

“I think taking a more holistic look at patients and the communities that they live in, what services they have access to, can be especially important in determining a person’s overall health,” Jacobs said. 

Jonathan Dayton, executive director of the Maryland Rural Health Care Association, agrees. He said public transportation in Maryland is limited and taxi services can be expensive. In places like Western Maryland, Dayton said the weather compounds these challenges because even if there is public transportation available, any routes don’t reach outlying areas.

Beyond transportation challenges, Dayton said health care is not the first financial priority in many households where mortgages, utilities, food and other basic needs take the forefront. 

“Factoring in wait times, meals, and travel, many patients lose an entire workday, which isn’t feasible for every family,” Dayton said. 

Rural counties account for 29% of Maryland’s population, with 18 of 24 counties considered rural. Yet only physicians work in those regions, according to data from the Rural Maryland Council, a state agency. 

What’s more, one-in-four hospital nursing jobs statewide remain unfilled, and the state operates with 16% fewer physicians than the national average, according to a workforce study cited by the Maryland Military Coalition in 2024. 

Southern Maryland, Western Maryland and the Eastern Shore are among the hardest hit, with shortages across 25 of 30 specialties in  Southern Maryland, 20 in Western Maryland and 18 on the Eastern Shore. 

“Policymakers and decision-makers need to spend time in these communities to fully understand the reality on the ground,” Dayton said. 

Policy changes in D.C. are adding pressure. 

In September, President Donald Trump announced a $100,000 fee for H-1B visa applications, a non-immigrant visa that allows U.S. employers to temporarily hire foreign workers in “specialty occupations.” 

Previously, visa fees ranged from $2,000 to $5,000 per application, depending on the size of the company, according to the Immigration Law Group. 

Dayton said the visa restrictions on internationally trained providers “create additional barriers in a system already experiencing shortages.” He said such limits deepen recruitment challenges and impact patients. 

Dayton warned that if trends continue, rural residents could face longer emergency wait times, delayed appointments and worsening health outcomes. 

“At the end of the day, we do have common goals, and I think there is a huge opportunity for us to continue to focus on those,” Seshamani told the conference. 

Even with the reforms, Seshamani said affordability remains a growing threat. One of the tactics the state employed to prevent this was to create its own subsidy to help “cushion the blow” for residents in case federal assistance declines.

“However, it cushions it; it does not get rid of it,” Seshamani said. 

Amelia Arria, associate dean for strategic initiatives at the University of Maryland School of Public Health, said she agrees with Seshamani.

Arria said there is a palpable concern among health care workers in the state about how Maryland will integrate rural communities into preventative healthcare, which Seshamani said should be a goal.   

“We cannot separate and say hospitals and physicians are the only place to access healthcare,” Arria said

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Last year, the owners took that mission to the , organized by the DowntownDC Business Improvement District and The , a woman-founded market operator dedicated to promoting equity, sustainability, and small business growth, for the first time. During the month-long event, the book store sold everything from their inventory, and for Young, there was no question they would return this winter. 

“That type of exposure for a small business is unheard of,” Young said. “The market is a tremendous boost for us.”

Before knowing their first year at the market would be a success, Young said they were scared they wouldn’t sell everything or have enough for the entire month. This year is different, she said. 

Over the past year, the business owner spent time budgeting the inventory necessary for the four-week market, in an attempt to not “scurry and try to order something that may take a week to arrive.”

They have gathered data around what was popular, what wasn’t so popular and what customers requested often. Now, Young said, they are ready. 

From Nov. 21 through Dec. 23, Mahogany Books and 114 other vendors, including over 20 first-timers, will take over between 7th and 9th Streets. 

The market is open from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday. 

Young said many customers who have visited Mahogany Books over the past year have credited the market, adding that she noticed the event’s diversity allows for different cultures and communities to combine and learn more about each other, including Black history. 

“It’s crucial at a time when I feel like so many people’s ideas get isolated,” Young said. “this market, to me, really reflects all the different cultures, all the different values, all the different communities in D.C.”

The Youngs started the online book store in a one-bedroom apartment, hoping to make Black history and stories accessible. But being a business owner doesn’t come without its hurdles. 

Young said many people didn’t believe in their mission, but they decided to mute the “naysayers.” 

The couple commonly heard questions such as “Are people even buying books?” Ramunda’s answer is yes. Mahogany Books’ location at the National Harbor sees 55,000 people a year.

“The proof is in the pudding now,” Young said. “This little Black bookstore is rocking.”

Young said the preparation for the market starts months in advance. 

for vendors interested in participating in the market open between February and March. After that, The Makers Show chooses the 115 vendors who will participate at the market. 

Gerren Price, the CEO of the DowntownDC BID since 2022, said “a mix of different types of vendor options” and ensuring diversity among them are key factors behind the decision making. 

This year, 70% of the market’s vendors will be women, LGBTQIA+, BIPOC and locally owned. 

The market celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2024, and Price said it was a reset moment for the event. With a change in the aesthetics, a greater focus on supporting small businesses and the addition of more vendors, the event brings foot traffic to Downtown, an area still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Since 2020, fewer people have visited local businesses and restaurants in the area, Price said. Beyond remnants of the pandemic, he said federal layoffs and the 44-day government shutdown also impacted foot traffic in downtown. 

However, the holiday market helps shift that dynamic. Price said the DowntownDC BID did an economic development analysis after the 2024 Holiday Market and found that for every $1 people spend in the market, they tend to spend $1.50 in activities downtown. 

“It’s important that we’re bringing as many people as we can into the downtown core just to support that broader economic infrastructure,” Price said. “So it’s fun and it’s festive, and it’s all about bringing joy, but it’s also dollars and cents and it helps the baseline of the economy in the city.” 

The market broke a record in 2024, with more than 347,000 visitors in 31 days, according to the CEO. He said he expects even higher numbers this year based on previous success and “positive word of mouth.”

For the small female-owned business those numbers make a difference. 

Angelika O’Reilly, owner of Eliana Curated, a jewelry store in Old Town Alexandria, has been a customer at the market from the start. Since opening her business in 2020, one thing was certain: She wanted to have a pop-up in the DowntownDC Holiday Market.

For three years, O’Reilly applied to join the market, with no success. However, things changed in 2024, when the DowntownDC BID partnered with The Makers Show. 

“That was the best thing that ever happened to me,” O’Reilly said. “It was transformative. I can tell you, 30% of our revenue last year came from the DowntownDC Holiday Market.”

O’Reilly was born in Eastern Europe, and when she was 5, her parents made a choice: to move to the U.S. and give their daughter an “American education.” Her interest in entrepreneurship flourished early. 

During her time in middle school and high school, O’Reilly started a “babysitting club” and a driver’s ed school for 16-year-olds. However, she spent 18 years of her adult life in the tech industry before launching Eliana Curated, and she didn’t do it alone. 

The business is a family affair. In 2020, when O’Reilly was pregnant with her first daughter, her parents moved to D.C. to be present for their only daughter and the first granddaughter. But they weren’t ready to retire; they needed a project.  

So, O’Reilly, who wasn’t prepared to leave the tech industry just yet, had an idea in mind: to buy designer brand garments from antique shops, collectors and state sales and “cycle the buttons.” They filled the buttons with 14 karat gold posts and made them into earrings.

O’Reilly said she still remembers the business’s first pop-up in Virginia, when no one bought an item. Her father, who shapes the designs alongside her mother, stayed positive and encouraged O’Reilly to “stay consistent,” she said.

After four years of juggling her job in the tech industry, being a business owner, a wife and a mother of two, O’Reilly said she decided to focus on her business full-time in October of 2024.

“We kept showing up,” O’Reilly said. “Then, we did the DowntownDC Holiday market last year, and it blew up.” 

Since then, the business owner has opened a physical store in Old Town Alexandria, where she said many tourists and locals who stop by credit the holiday market for introducing them to Eliana Curated for the first time. 

For the store’s second year in the event, O’Reilly said customers expect a new line of waterproof jewelry and new vintage designer buttons. But for her, what she looks forward to the most is connecting with new customers.

“What I love about being a woman-run business is getting to meet all of you in person and like having new relationships,” O’Reilly said. “I feel like I have 100 new friends that I make every single month.”

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Washington, D.C., area residents said Wednesday they are less interested in the political battles, and more focused on the potential loss of benefits and what that means for their families.��

SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, is a government-funded food assistance program designed to support low-income households with children, seniors and people with disabilities; it offsets the cost of nutritious food during economic hardship.��

Stress is palpable

More than a million people in the D.C. metro area suffer from food insecurity, according to the Capital Area Food Bank, the largest food distribution center in the region.����

Bernice Anderson, a D.C. resident, received her SNAP benefits on Nov. 1, but said the possibility of not receiving them kept her awake for several nights in a row.��

Anderson, who has been receiving SNAP benefits for the past six years, said she depends on that help to feed her three children.��

“Three kids, bills and all the things,” Anderson said. “We would have no food if we didn’t get stamps.”

Hillary Salmon, senior director of marketing and communications at Capital Area Food Bank, said 430,000 people in the DMV area rely on SNAP benefits, with monthly assistance averaging between $186 and $330 per household. Without the SNAP dollars, Salmon said 80 meals a month are “gone from families’ tables.

“We are trying to fill the gap,” Salmon said. “For every meal that a food bank provides, the SNAP program provides nine. That can get you a sense of how broad the issue is.”��

Salmon said Mayor Muriel Bowser’s announcement that the city will fund SNAP through November brought relief. But she said the food bank is still planning for potential impacts from possible delays. In November, Capital Area Food Bank is ramping up to provide a million more meals than previously projected, a 25% increase from the same time last year.��

Although residents in the Washington, D.C.,�� area will still receive benefits this month, Salmon said the community’s stress is palpable. Phone calls to the organization’s Hunger Lifeline, which assists those looking for emergency food aid, have tripled over the past three weeks.��

In September, the Capital Area Food Bank’s Hunger Report found 36% of residents in the DMV area don’t know where their next meal will come from. Salmon said she suspects the numbers will get worse following recent federal layoffs and the government shutdown.��

“We are dealing with many forces acting upon each other,” Salmon said. “A lot of these folks are really experiencing economic strain and a lot of anxiety about what’s going to happen.”

Mixed messages from the feds

Conflicting messages from the federal government on SNAP funding have led some to question whether they will get their benefits in November.

In October, the website said SNAP benefits would not continue in November.

“Bottom line, the well has run dry. At this time, there will be no benefits issued on November 1,” the Food and Nutrition web page said at the time.

On Oct 30, Bowser announced that the District will use its own money to cover the cost of food benefits received by Washingtonians under SNAP through November.��

On Oct. 31, federal judges ordered the Trump administration to use emergency federal funds to sustain SNAP benefits through the shutdown.��

Then, Trump said on a Nov. 4 Truth Social post,�� SNAP benefits would be held.

On the same day, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that the Trump administration is distributing SNAP benefits.

“The administration is fully complying with the court order,” Leavitt said.

‘Frustration’ and confusion��

Behind the shutdown, political banter, confusion and court orders, residents are worried.��

Mike, who received food from Bread for the City, an assistance center, and who requested not to use his full name for privacy reasons, said he welcomed Bowser’s decision to authorize the use of local funds to support SNAP.

“Without that help,”�� Mike said, “I would lose my benefits.”

For Katrina Sanders, a Washington, D.C., resident, the possibility of not receiving her SNAP benefits in November is unimaginable.

Sanders, a mom of four, said a foot injury has kept her from working, and the benefits provide peace of mind for her and her four children.��

Scheduled to receive her SNAP benefits on Nov. 8, Sanders said she is relying on different community outreach programs, such as Martha’s Table, a nonprofit service organization, to have access to fresh produce.��

“I am going to have to make due with what I have,” Sanders said. “You rely on all these things put in place, and to hear they may not continue to be in place is so frustrating.”��

��World Central Kitchen helps federal workers

The NGO World Central Kitchen is helping people in need in Washington, mostly federal employees and their families. The government shutdown has affected not only SNAP recipients but also the food security of many federal workers.

“We are feeding people working without pay,” said Laura Hayes, senior manager of the Chef Corps for World Central Kitchen. “They are coming into the office, and we are making sure to take care of them.”

By helping federal workers overcome food insecurity, they are also supporting local restaurants, which have been struggling as fewer federal employees eat out.

Hayes said the group has provided more than 36,000 meals and all of them are purchased from local restaurants.

“We are buying the meals from the local restaurants and then sharing them with furloughed workers,” Hayes said. “So everybody is supported a little bit.”

Salmon said concerns and caution are rampant in the community. But with support from community networks, there is some ease to the tumultuous environment.

“We know there was an existing high level of need in our community even before anything related to the shutdown, and we are working to step in and help provide even more food out into the community,” Salmon said.��

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In October, the company announced a seven-year deal with Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc., making the pharmaceutical a major sponsor at the arena. Under the agreement, Vanda received naming rights to the arena’s new in-house production facilities, now called Vanda Pharmaceuticals Studios. 

In a joint statement with Vanda, MSE CEO Ted Leonsis said the partnership reflects a shared ambition to tell “bigger stories, reach wider audiences and uplift the D.C. community.”

The announcement came as phase one of the Capital One Arena redevelopment is nearing completion and phase two, which focused on locker rooms, lounges and premium fan areas, also is ending. 

Vanda is the project’s second founding partner, following a multiyear deal with United Airlines. The United deal includes branding and integration opportunities with the NBA’s Washington Wizards, NHL’s Washington Capitals, WNBA’s Washington Mystics, Capital One Arena and Monumental Sports Network.

MSE is looking to secure as many as 10 founding partners, which would involve team-controlled media, community outreach programs and advertising.

MSE did not respond to requests for comment. 

Community impact minimal so far

Chinatown ANC Commissioner Thomas Lee said phase one brought little disruption to the surrounding Chinatown community.

The initial stage of construction mainly focused on interior upgrades, with minimal work on the building’s exterior. Aside from temporary fencing, a few dumpsters on Sixth Street and the short-term closure of the Metro stop entrances over the summer, Lee said most nearby businesses have been unaffected. 

Lee said the next phases will include exterior improvements and expanded work zones and will likely be more visible to the community. However, he said, for now, he sees the light footprint of phase one as a positive sign that the redevelopment has been well-managed. 

While the first stage caused little neighborhood disruption, Lee said he hopes the city will use this moment to address lingering issues with the surrounding streetscape and public spaces. 

He said his constituents have complained about cracked brick sidewalks, lights not working and overflowing trash bins, adding that those need attention. 

 As the project develops, the commissioner said he would like for the city to combine the “immense investment” in the arena with improvements to downtown infrastructure and public safety. 

“If we were to combine all three, we will then see a huge return to when people were attracted to downtown,” Lee said. 

Winston Lord, co-leader of the new phase of Chinatown’s Task Force, said the community has expressed “historical skepticism” about whether the redevelopment and renovations can work.  Some of those concerns, Lord said, are related to possible gentrification in the area and wanting to make sure the amount of money invested in the project is proportional to its changes.

However, Lord said MSE has been engaged with the Chinatown community to address concerns and fears about gentrification and loss of local culture. 

“It’s still early, but all the key players, as far as I can tell, are all rowing in the same direction, which is hugely optimistic,” Lord said. 

Lord, founder of Lord Advisory, a strategic advisory firm in D.C., is one of the co-leaders for the successor to the Gallery-Place Chinatown Task Force, an 18-month task force created by Mayor Muriel Bowser to address the future of Capitol One Arena and its neighboring areas. 

Lord and Tim Ma, a restaurant owner in D.C., who do not have governmental authority, were asked earlier this year to continue the task force’s work. The D.C. Council approved $250,000 as part of Bowser’s fiscal 2026 growth agenda to implement ideas seeded by the task force. 

Lord, the son of a Chinese immigrant and a D.C. native, said Monumental has shown interest in finding ways to be good neighbors to the Chinatown area. 

“They are eager and already have shown ways that they want to help celebrate Chinatown,” Lord said. “There’s an interest to keep that culture alive and make it thrive.”

The deputy mayor’s office for planning and economic development and the DowntownBID did not respond to requests for comment.

Several more phases are planned through 2027, with construction eventually shifting toward major exterior upgrades, including a new F Street entrance, upgraded concession areas and a redesigned facade. 

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Come January, Maldonado and other book fans will have a new place to gather. Barnes & Noble, the nation’s largest bookseller, will make its return to downtown D.C. for the first time since closing its 555 12th St. NW location in 2015. 

The company signed a lease for a 16,000-square-foot space in the historic Woodward & Lothrop department building, near the Metro Center station. The new store was initially slated to open this fall but has been delayed until January because of construction setbacks, the company announced Monday. 

“We are so disappointed, but we know something worth doing is worth doing right. We hope to see you coming through those doors early 2026,”

Maldonado, an international student, said one of her favorite activities is to find new books and hide somewhere inside Barnes & Noble. She said her friends used to laugh at her, but now, they join her. 

“They join because when you buy books in person you can take your time and just be here, present,” Maldonado said. 

The downtown opening follows the chain’s return to its original Georgetown location last year, more than a decade after it closed there in 2011. 

The expansion signals more than just corporate growth;  it also reflects a broader revival in consumer’s desire to browse and buy books in person rather than online. 

Barnes & Noble went through a reinvention in 2019, after James Daunt took over as CEO of the newly private company. 

Daunt had the top job at Waterstones, the Barnes & Noble of the U.K. In 2018, the company was bought by the activist hedge fund Elliot Management for $475 million and tapped Daunt to be in charge and lead the poorly managed chain at the time. The company, now privately owned, is expanding after Elliot’s acquisition, but it does not report financial results, according to the Wall Street Journal. 

The return rate of a bookstore represents the percentage of unsold books that retailers ship back to publishers, which measures the health of the store. When Daunt started as Barnes & Noble’s CEO, the return rate was 25%. In 2023, it was down to 9%. 

Daunt told the Wall Street Journal his plan was to “combine the power of a big chain with the pleasure of a beloved indie.”

For some customers, that strategy worked. 

As Danielle Ding, an embryologist in California, and Jacqueline Landry, a D.C resident, browsed through the Georgetown store, they said Daunt succeeded in blending the two worlds. 

One of the chain’s missions is to offer something different from Amazon, where about half of the U.S. buys print books from, Daunt told The Guardian in 2023. 

Although Landry said she knows a lot of people shop online, she has a hierchy when deciding where to buy her books, with an independent book store taking the first place, Barnes & Noble the second and Amazon in last. 

Landry said the new location at Penn Quarter represents a broader shift and a new appreciation for books. 

“You can get any book you want,” Landry said. “The more locations you have it means you can get a book on the same day rather than waiting for shipping.” 

For Amanda Abbud, a law student who carves out time to read daily, more in-person bookstores mean more opportunities to discover new authors and attend to more events in the community. 

“The new store makes me hopeful,” Abbud said. “I think this is a nice indicator that people are still reading and bonding over books.”

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U.S. District Judge Susan Illston Wednesday put on hold the subsequent mass firing of about 4,100 of the federal workers — a decision aimed at the Trump administration. Illston, with the Northern District of California, questioned the legality of the administration to fire them.  

Even as the courts weigh in, the shutdown appears far from over.

Senate leaders voted against ending the shutdown Wednesday for the ninth time after efforts to end the stalemate collapsed on Tuesday. 

The shutdown is tangled in deep partisan divisions, with Republicans and Democrats refusing to negotiate over Democrats’ push to extend health care tax credits, which make health insurance cheaper for millions of Americans under the Affordable Care Act. 

The shutdown — the fifth longest in modern history — mirrors the political brinkmanship seen during Trump’s first term when the stoppage lasted 34 days.

Stephen Farnsworth, political science and international affairs at the University of Mary Washington, said the administration’s strategy of sustaining select programs while tightening pressure on Democrats suggests the shutdown may be less a short-term funding lapse than a calculated battle over the future of federal spending and health care policy.

“Democrats find it difficult to make a deal with Republicans in Congress when the president has shown little interest in following the terms of existing laws on the federal budget,” Farnsworth said. 

Deadlock in D.C.

Leadership wasn’t budging Wednesday. 

House Speaker Mike Johnson said in a press conference he will not bring back House members until Senate Democrats agree to reopen the government first.

An hour and a half later, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Democrats were willing to negotiate, but would not approve any funding bill without action on health care subsidies. 

“We are ready, we are willing, and we are able to negotiate a bipartisan spending agreement,” Jeffries said outside the Capitol. 

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-LA, said that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-NY, is avoiding compromise with Senate Republicans on the shutdown to fulfill a “hostage list” of demands that will undermine Americans.

The impasse reflects a familiar dynamic in Washington, but this time the stakes are higher.

The layoffs across seven federal agencies started Friday, including at the Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services. Before Illston’s decision, over 4,100 employees received layoff notices. 

Sen. John Fetterman, D-PA, said that Congress “should have never shut the government down,” when addressing concerns of mass layoffs of federal workers.

“They’re not going to get paid,” Fetterman said. “Don’t put them in that spot by shutting the government down.”

Republicans also want the government open, but blame the holdup on Democrats.

“I voted nine times to open the federal government,” said Sen. John Boozman, R-AR, outside the Senate subway. “The Democrats were blocking that.”

What is working or not

As key federal programs face growing uncertainty, the White House is working to shield certain services from disruption. 

On Saturday, the Trump administration announced $8 billion would be reallocated to cover the pay of about 1.3 million active-duty personnel and National Guard members. Although they received their paycheck on Wednesday, Johnson said  service members will miss their Oct. 31 paychecks if the government doesn’t reopen by then.

The move appears aimed at maintaining critical operations while blunting public backlash against the administration. But those steps may also remove much of the pressure that could otherwise force a deal.

Johnson said that conservative Republicans “prioritize troops and law enforcement.” 

Republicans “moved that over to prioritize payment of those who are putting their lives on the line today, and the families in serious situations,” Johnson said.

When questioned about Capitol police working without pay, Johnson said that Republicans “are not taking pleasure” in this scenario. 

The Senate is expected to vote again Thursday on the GOP-led funding bill without any expectation of a different outcome, according to Politico. 

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In August, President Donald Trump declared a “crime emergency” in D.C. and deployed federal law enforcement agents and National Guard troops to patrol city streets.����

However, while the federal surge ended in early September, its effects have not.����

Several business owners and pedestrians in the Chinatown and Gallery Place area expressed that unease but declined to speak on the record, saying they feared retaliation for criticizing the police or federal agents. Others who agreed to talk described an atmosphere of tension and confusion during the federal operation and a lingering skepticism toward local law enforcement.����

A frequent visitor to the area, who requested anonymity because of safety concerns, said he understands MPD had little choice but to cooperate with federal orders. Still, he said the collaboration��blurred lines between local and federal authority.����

“Maybe it’s not even anybody’s fault,” he said. “But I do think to an extent that MPD still has to lend a hand and maybe, in some instances, avoid fear tactics when they are unnecessary.”����

Another frequent visitor to the area, who also requested anonymity because of safety concerns, said she would like MPD to take a more vocal role in reassuring the Chinatown community that its mission is to serve and not intimidate. ��

She recalled a recent incident where a woman pushing two children in a stroller was publicly detained at the Metro station for skipping the fare gate.����

��“I think they could exercise more discretion in situations like that,” she said. “Yes, give her a ticket, but it’s things like that that make people fear local police.”��

Thaddeus Johnson, a former law enforcement official in Tennessee and a senior fellow at the Council on Criminal Justice, said the sense of surveillance and mistrust can linger for a long time. ��

He said the community in Chinatown may not differentiate one law enforcement entity from the other when they see a badge, and actions from one agency can directly impact how citizens see law enforcement in general. ��

Johnson said it takes more than participating in community events to strengthen the relationship between locals and law enforcement. ��

He said officers should practice “intelligence– driven patrol” to show the community they are not doing “stops and frisk.”��

“Trust is hard to build and easy to break,” Johnson said. “You have to show that you’re responsible, responsive to the needs of people. You’re never supposed to govern in symbolism.”��

Although violent crime District-wide went down by 4,760 reported incidents between January 2024 and October 2025, according to the , Chinatown remains one of the city’s areas of concern.��

D.C. Crime Cards data shows theft and robbery remain persistently high in Chinatown, particularly around the Metro area. However, theft rates fell from 13,002 to 9,007 incidents between 2024 and 2025.��

Johnson said the Asian community was targeted during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, and though he said things have improved, recent history combined with the federal takeover could trigger fear and mistrust.��

Nearly 40% of over 3,500 arrests made since the operation began in early August were immigration-related, according to the Associated Press. Johnson said though MPD didn’t perform those actions, local communities may not distinguish one authority from the other. ��

“All we see is a badge of enforcement,” Johnson said. “So, how other agencies act impacts how you feel, even about the officers you see day to day walking in your community.”��

The DowntownDC Business Improvement District did not respond��to questions in time for publication.

MPD First District Capt. Paul Hrebenak said a large part of policing is training MPD officers on community policing and identifying biases. He said MPD focuses on having a fair balance and check system so the community feels like they are “treated fairly.”������

However, he said he understands how the federal takeover may have impacted the trust in local enforcement.����

“I can definitely understand that there’s been a shift, perhaps, as this takeover has happened with the community’s trust in law enforcement,” Hrebenak said. “But I think in the long term and the medium term, things really haven’t changed that much in our response from neighborhood to neighborhood.”��

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While they acknowledge that crime in the neighborhood is down from previous highs, leaders say these initiatives help project a sense of safety and stability to neighborhood residents.

At an Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2C , 2C04 Commissioner Jim Swart said he reached out to Commander Colin Hall of the Metropolitan Police Department’s First District to ask for more frequent use of the drug free zones because he has seen them have positive impact in the area.

“It’s been an important piece of the crime reduction puzzle,” Hall said at the meeting. “I wish we could extend it.”

Over the past year and a half, D.C. officials have been leaning on a combination of initiatives to reshape Chinatown’s sense of security.

Mayor Muriel Bowser opened the Safe Commercial Corridor Hub in 2024 to connect residents to a range of services, with a focus to keep the neighborhoods clean and safe.

Bowser also reimplemented the drug free zones. The zones were created under the 1996 to allow police to order groups in designated areas suspected of drug-related activity to disperse for up to 120 consecutive hours.

In 2014, the D.C. Council the legislation, but in 2024 Bowser reinstated drug free zones with the goal to “interrupt activities and allow neighborhoods to clean up and reclaim public space.”

Howard Marks, a Chinatown resident since 2014, said it was the right choice and said he would like to see it implemented more often.

“Just by putting the orange posters, drug dealers avoid the area,” Marks said, referring to the posters used to announce the drug free zones. “It’s amazing, it created a new atmosphere.”

Marks, the vice president of the Gallery Place Condominium, which manages the residential portion of the mixed-use building at 777 7th Street NW, said he would like to see more drug free zones implemented around the Capital One Arena area.��

Capt. Paul Hrebenak of the Metropolitan Police Department’s First District said the enforcement tool must be backed up by data showing high levels of drug or violent crimes in the neighborhood.��

Chinatown has seen a decrease in crime and increase in security since the pandemic, according to Hrebenak, who said the achievement is due to a combination of several efforts. ��

In August, President Donald Trump declared the Metropolitan Police Department under “direct federal control,” an order that lasted for 30 days. Hrebenak said local law enforcement in Chinatown remained consistent during the takeover and prioritized transparency with the residents in the area.��

“I can definitely understand that there’s been a shift, perhaps, as this takeover has happened, with the community trust in law enforcement,” Hrebenak said. “But in the medium term, things haven’t changed that much in our neighborhood-to-neighborhood response with MPD.”

Hrebenak said moving forward, MPD’s goal is to continue to improve the safety in the Chinatown area, but drug free zones are not the only focus.��

He said the tactic is not a “silver bullet,” but the zones give officers a legal way to curb loitering tied to drug use and sales.��

“No drug free zone is going to magically make an area not have drugs anymore,” Hrebenak said. “It’s not like we slap a drug free zone on a certain area and expect it to be all, end all. It’s a small part of a larger initiative to help some of these areas.”

John Kwon, manager of Chinatown Liquor Beer & Wine, has worked at the store on 602 H St. NW for the past 10 years.

Kwon said he’s watched the negative impact of the pandemic on the Chinatown area and the said the drug free zones and the Safe Commercial Corridor Hub have played a role in improving the area.

“The drug free zones help so much, and I would definitely like to see it implemented more often,” Kwon said. “But homeless is my biggest concern about safety.”

First District Officer Majohn Williams is stationed at the Safe Commercial Corridor Hub at 675 H St. NW.��

Williams started working at the hub when it first open. For the past year and a half, she said she has seen violence in the area decrease alongside the calls for service. Williams echoed Kwon’s concern and said though safety has been improving, homelessness continues to be an issue in the area.��

In addition, Williams said a lot of people in the Chinatown community don’t know about the hub.��

“Some people may walk past it and not know what it is,” Williams said. “I do feel like it needs more advertisement, so the center is able to help more than what we’ve been helping.”��

Marks raised the same concern during the September ANC meeting. He said the hub can’t be an effective tool for the community’s safety if it’s hidden. Marks encouraged the

city to improve the signs in front of the hub to help people understand its role better.

91���� reached out to the mayor’s office and ANC 2C commissioner Thomas Lee but did not receive responses to questions in time for publication.

Councilmember Brooke Pinto (D-Ward 2) said she has worked with Chinatown residents and stakeholders on ways to support and enhance public safety. Pinto is the chairperson of the committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety, which is responsible for public safety issues including law enforcement, law enforcement oversight and also violence reduction in the city.

“Drug free zones are a critical tool for our local police to identify and address hotspots of crime activity to allow communities to reclaim public space,” Pinto said.

Hrebenak said while data can help the city and Chinatown residents have an idea of the bigger picture, the real measure of progress is how people experience the neighborhood.

“I think over the last few years, we’ve really seen the shift that’s been through investments like the Safe Commercial Corridor Hub and the Drug-Free Zones,” Hrebenak said. “But also we’ve made a conscious decision to make sure we have police resources in the area and we can ask people ‘How do you feel walking to work?’ ‘How do you feel living in Chinatown now?’ and there’s a huge difference from two years ago.”

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The Japanese restaurant it lost its lease to the incoming $75 million Marriott Tribute Chinatown Hotel, part of a redevelopment project led by Eddie Moy, the building’s longtime owner, and local developer Rift Valley Capital.

“As we enter another healing phase, we have all the intention of regrouping and finding another way of continuing Momiji in the D.C. community,” the restaurant wrote on an Instagram post.

Momiji’s closure highlights a broader shift underway in D.C.’s Chinatown, where longtime businesses are giving way to redevelopment projects and changing demographics. The hotel project, a new luxury apartmenttower and are set to reshape the area.

Some residents and business owners see new investments as a chance to modernize and bring fresh activity to the area, while others worry it accelerates the decline of legacy businesses that once defined the neighborhood’s character.

Andrew Cohen, a Chinatown resident since 2021, said losing local businesses to bigger corporations can impact the cultural aspect of the community.

“It’s a shame to see places closing, but if something is going to close, I hope it can be replaced with something of a similar kind,” Cohen said.

Cohen said he is not familiar with specific plans for the Marriott hotel but added that he is optimistic the company will support the Chinese traditions in the area.

Momiji joins the list of Asian-owned business losses for the neighborhood, following Full Kee Restaurant and Gao Ya Salon, two long-time Asian-owned businesses that vacated their properties in July because of the hotel project.

Moy said the businesses were not forced to leave the building. Instead, he said the owners signed a month-to-month lease with the understanding that redevelopment was possible.

The building owner said the plan is to offer local Asian business owners the option to lease street-level retails and spaces below the hotel.

The hotel project is expected to preserve the seven historic row homes along the H street, where Momiji is located, and will feature 142 boutique rooms, a pan-Asian restaurant and a Chinese market.

“The hotel would bring more foot traffic to the city and a more vibrant and exciting Chinatown to the public sector and the Asian community,” Moy said.

Fewer than 10 legacy businesses.

Momiji’s closure will leave Chinatown with fewer than 10 small legacy-owned businesses, according to . Shani Shia, an activist with the Save Chinatown Solidarity Network, said the closures are part of a larger trend threatening the neighborhood’s cultural fabric.

Shia formed the network in response to  D.C.’s Mayor Muriel Bowser’s  and to “support the preservation of Chinatown’s working class.”

She said the group calls for stronger protections to keep legacy businesses in place, saying that rising rents and redevelopment threaten to erase the neighborhood’s cultural identity.

“There needs to be more cooperation, collaboration and shared prioritization of preserving the legacy businesses instead of trying to replace with new stuff,” Shia said.

Bowser created the task force in 2024 to find ways to revitalize the neighborhood. As the initial stage of the task force came to an end in 2025, the group has recommended new steps to revitalize the area with Asian grocery stores, cultural festivals and targeted funding for minority-owned businesses.

Ben Guzman, the director of the Mayor’s Office on Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs, said Chinatown is a key part of Bowser’s broader vision for the revitalization of downtown.

“Change is inevitable, and what’s important is how the city, from our perspective as a city agency, is how the city manages that change,” Guzman said. “The coming and going of businesses matters, but it is how we set the table in terms of being a place where businesses can and want to come that helps create the conditions of the culture we want to foster in Chinatown.”

Guzman said the role of Chinatown in D.C. has evolved since it was in the 1880s.

At the time, the prohibited the immigration of Chinese laborers into the United States. The act pushed Chinese immigrants to create a place where they could integrate with others during a time when the law was against them.

Over the years, the Chinese and broader Asian communities spread to other areas, redefining Chinatown’s role as a cultural hub. In 1990, 60% of residents in Chinatown were Asian. In 2020, that number dropped to about 20%.

Guzman, who has lived around the area for almost 30 years, noted multiple factors that are leading to changes, including the effects of COVID-19 and the growth of other neighborhoods such as The Wharf and Union Market. Both districts underwent rapid redevelopment in the past decade, attracting more businesses and visitors. The Wharf and Union Market serve as examples, Guzman said. “But we’re not just trying to attract businesses to Chinatown. We’re trying to maintain a cultural legacy.”

Evelyn Moy, senior president of the Moy Family Association, agreed. She said Chinatown has long been a cultural touchstone for Chinese Americans in D.C., rooted in the history of exclusion and migrations.

Evelyn Moy said advocates won’t succeed in keeping major developments from happening. However, she sympathizes with advocates who want to preserve the culture in the neighborhood and said she encourages them to keep the cultural legacy alive.

“The city could have done more, but the city can’t save everybody,” Evelyn Moy said. “You have to adapt and change. You have to take the good and the bad, and there has to be a balance.”

The Moy Family Association is not involved in the Marriott Tribune Hotel project led by Eddie Moy and Rift Valley. Eddie Moy is the co-president of the association. However, the hotel is part of a personal project for him.

Although the Gallery Place/Chinatown Task Force completed its initial phase in 2025, Bowser appointed two community advocates to move into a second phase of revitalization. Winston Lord, a D.C. native, and Tim Ma, a local chef, will work as liaisons between the Chinatown community and the city.

Their appointment comes as city leaders seek to guide Chinatown’s transformation while maintaining its cultural identity.

“We will bring Chinatown back as a vibrant cultural destination that’s rooted in heritage and designed to bring people together.” Lord wrote in an .

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