Washington, D.C.‘s leading mayoral candidates, Janeese Lewis George and Kenyan McDuffie, could not name one Republican member of Congress they have attempted to forge a working relationship with as they discussed their plans for advocating the district on the Hill.As a federal district and not a state, Washington has much of its locally written policy and governance ultimately under Congress’s jurisdiction. Washington’s mayor is unique among the nation’s mayors in its standing with Congress, as the district’s mayor typically must work with the chambers to advocate certain policies and budgetary issues that are ultimately approved. In deep-blue Washington, the current GOP-controlled House and Senate, alongside executive control of the Trump administration, have posed a unique challenge to the city’s leadership.Both candidates, the more moderate McDuffie and socialist Lewis George, challenged Mayor Muriel Bowser‘s approach to dealing with the Republican-controlled federal government during a Thursday NBC debate. Bowser, who initially made headlines for standing up against President Donald Trump in his first term, has struck a more placid tone with Trump in the second as he mobilized the National Guard in Washington and federalized the Metropolitan Police Department.